A Desert Oasis
I had one of those moments that make teaching worthwhile yesterday. I was teaching the kids in my best class some words pertaining to stories, specifically “character,” “setting, “and “plot.” To practice I went around the room a few times and had each student add a few sentences to a collective class story*. For homework I told the kids to write their own very short story. These only needed to have two characters, one setting, and three plot points. In my mind this was not a lot, but in every one of my other classes this week there was universal cries of “teacher, nooooo!” when I assigned it.
*Most of these stories ended up having me as a character, ended up taking place somewhere in outer space, and ended with my untimely death.
Thus, I was anticipating a lot of moaning and groaning when I wrote the assignment on the board. Instead, one kid named Sunny asked: “can we write more?” Yes Sunny, yes you can. Then another kid, David by name, said: “teacher, can I make mine a flash movie?” Yes David, oh God yes.
Usually the kids only grudgingly tolerate English class. But sometimes…ah, sometimes they get on board. Sometimes they forget themselves and have fun. Sometimes they are right there with you, riding the same wavelength, perfectly in phase. These moments are rare, but they make all the difference.