The Reason

We read a story in class today about a young Italian man. It took place just as Italy was joining WWI, and the plot focused on how his mother smuggled him out of town in a hay wagon so he could take a boat to America to avoid being drafted. It was just a quick story that was supposed to help them identify elements of story structure: setting, characters, problem, solution. We ended up having a 30 minute discussion about the draft, Vietnam, regime change, the internet, political leaders, war vets, Iraq, the bombing of the world trade center, sexism, and the reality of war versus the stuff we see on TV and in the movies. Dang. And the only real contributions I made revolved around making sure they weren't interrupting one another and providing factual information when asked (Does everyone get drafted?). They led the conversation where they wanted it to go.

I make a very conscious effort to avoid labelling political or religious beliefs as "right" or "wrong" in my classroom. (I'll let you imagine the state of my tongue after one girl quoted our pal, Mr. Bill O'Reilly!) It isn't my job to tell them what to think. Any time those topics come up, I stick to two main phrases...

"That is what some people believe."

and

"But what about..."

No matter which side of the fence students are standing, there is always room for them to realize that they are, in fact, on one side of a very twisted and winding fence and that it's never too late to ask questions to better help you decide which side of that fence you really want to be on. If they take nothing more from my classroom, I hope they remember that I taught them to question everything and take nothing at face value, because there are too damn many people out there trying to take advantage of those who don't think.

I will now step off my soapbox and head to bed. Have a nice night, y'all.