Today is my first day as a public school teacher.
I’ve taught before in universities, and subbed long-term in public schools. But this is my first time as a full-time teacher in a public school. I am teaching high schoolers the art of language.
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When I graduated college for the first time I made a list of advice for people attending or graduating from Freedom Hardly Man. This advice could also apply to other Christian schools, and even any other university to a degree. After 5 years away, I dispense with this advice once again.
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“I’m sorry. Did you mean to say you ‘asked‘ me a question? Because ‘axe‘ is something you chop wood with.”
Ever hear that one? There is a reason I ‘axe‘ this question of you.
We commonly hear that saying “axe” when you mean “ask” is bad grammar, is a sign of ignorance. Is this true? And what does the use of “axe” say about a person?
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” ‘Ain’t’ ain’t in the dictionary.”
Ever hear that one? The colloquial phrase “ain’t” is typically a contracted variation of “am/is/are/was/were not”.
We commonly hear that “ain’t” is improper, is bad grammar, is a sign of ignorance. Is this true? And what does the use of “ain’t” say about us?
Conventionally, many people suppose that it is. After all, in none of the preceding forms of “to be” that ends in the word combination “ain”. Yet somehow we have ain’t. This leaves us with the question, “how did this develop?”
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As part of a mini-unit on the Harlem Rennaisance, I had students encounter the poem Incident by Countee Cullen, in which the author remembers a seemingly minor incident in his childhood that impacts him for the rest of his life.
As part of our study, we discuss the theme of being deeply impacted by a small incident, and as part of the lesson, I asked students to write their own “incident” poem.
Now, whenever possible teachers should try to model composition for their students for various reasons, among them being the viewing of the process, the example from an adult they know, and the assurance that their teacher is in on the “adventure” with them.
So here’s a little something I came up with, a poem about a time when my family was on vacation in Arizona. One day I waited in the car to look at the desert while my family went inside a store. A very small, insignificant event happened, but for some reason I still remember it.
Arizona Day
I sat in the car and waited
Admiring the day
An odd old man approached me
He had something to say
He gave a friendly greeting
And asked about the day
I spoke of all the weather
For I knew not what to say
He spoke also of weather
And of the coming day
And soon enough we finished
With nothing left to say
At once my dad returned
To drive us round all day
I told him of the lonely man
And all that we did say
I said it was nothing much
He said I might have made his day
And when this thought occurred to me
I knew not what to say
“I didn’t do nothing,” is a double negative. The words didn’t and nothing, both being negative, create a sentence in which there are two negatives, when it is otherwise assumed that the speaker meant to enforce a single negation: Nothing was done.
Is this an error? Is this bad grammar?
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Occasionally you’ll bump into someone who is convinced that the Holocaust was a result of Christianity.
Now, I could dismiss this and laugh it off (no pearls before the swine). But then you would never know if it was true, and if you were searching for reasons to abandon your Christian belief then my reaction would seem cowardly. So let us discuss the matter.
Was Adolf Hitler a Christian? And, if so, is Christianity to blame for the Holocaust?
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“I have heard all this before.
What miserable comforters you are!
Won’t you ever stop blowing hot air?
What makes you keep on talking?
I could say the same things if you were in my place.
I could spout off criticism and shake my head at you.
But if it were me, I would encourage you.
I would try to take away your grief.” (Job 16:2-5 | NLT)
I don’t have much to say that others have not said. What I would like to do is to direct you to some articles and blogs that I hope will help you, as they helped me, make sense of the tragedies at Sandy Hook and Chengpeng and remember what I should direct my mind and heart toward after it has passed.
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” To this day, especially in times of “disaster,” I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world.” – Fred Rogers
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[back to part 8: The War on Some Drugs]
“Our Future is the Hands of our Students”
or
“High Stakes and Low Standards”
or
“High Standards, but Low Barriers”
or
“Repeal NCLB already!”
Our school systems rank toward the bottom of the list when compared with those of other industrialized countries. Sure, we may be able to brag about churning out all kinds of Nobel winners and innovators, but most of our students are graduating without the knowledge they should have, meaning that those Nobel prize winners stand on the other side of a gap too far from most of our other students. Our schools pass a lot of kids because our schools are too easy.
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CALEB COY 