Back from the shallow leagues

I have come back during my lunch hour to blog about my life.

Since my last post, I can't say that much has changed. I have not been attacking the world with the eager eye of a writer or English major or observant person or whatever. Aside from the periodic emotional roller coasters to which I'm prone to ride, my surroundings, my associations, my interactions, my rituals have remained entirely consistent. I've continued to teach English to (I think) the best of my ability with a moderate dose of passion in my fuel tank. Ask me later if I always spend said fuel in a day's work.

Today, students read essays I asked them to write for yesterday. Yesterday turned out to be a freezing rain-related cancellation, so nature allotted them an extra day to complete this essay. The essay was a pre-reading activity for The Scarlet Letter in which they were asked to choose a figure of today who has struggled with unwanted media attention and stigma, write about their "vice" or "sin", and tell me whether or not the media scrutiny is justified. I then had them turn the lens on themselves. The results were surprising and, in some ways, disheartening. I was surprised, given the option of sharing in front of the class for ten extra points, how many students were willing to share their personal struggles so freely. I won't go into some of the subject matter, but it truly affected me and made me re-think the "stand-and-deliver" option for this essay.

My students, as a whole, seem to struggle so much more than I did at that age. I don't know if it's prudent to draw any conclusions from this. Even if it were prudent, I don't know what kind of conclusions I could draw.

None of them, however, are pleasant.

- Tiger