How?

How can I show students that lynching is not something to joke about?

How can I teach students about the Holocaust and have them read literature about it when those same racial and ethnic prejudices are present in their own minds?

How can I teach compassion?

How can I teach students to imagine when all they want to do is stuff earphones in their ears and drown their thoughts with mindless songs?

How can I teach student to critically think? No, not just think, but really really think for themselves without me telling them how?

How can I make them open to poetry?

How can I make them open up to the world around them?

I am saddened by what kids surround themselves with. But more than anything, I am sad to witness the new trend of lets-not-think-I-want-everything-to-be-easy-and-spelled-out-for-me mindsets. Granted, every student is not like this, but I am realizing the challenges that are before me.

Poison and Wine

is the title of the song I'm listening to. By The Civil Wars. It's haunting, and I really like it. You should look it up if you want.

I haven't blogged in months and months, and I think I will start again. This is just a crazy time in life right now. So much is happening, and I am just trying not to think too much about it. When I think about all my friends moving away from me, I get kind of sad, so I just push the thoughts aside.

I am really really excited about finding a full time teaching job and settling down somewhere. It's exciting to think that I could end up anywhere. It's really exciting. I mean, we are all really growing up, or trying to. It's crazy how many people I know who are getting married or having babies. When did this start to happen? Anyway, I am not planning on marriage or children at the moment, but I am going to start my career, and I plan on giving teaching everything I've got. I have so many ideas floating around in my head right now. Like, I can make them read this book, and we can do this project, and I can decorate this certain way. I want to make kids who don't like English like my class. Hey, I get it. Not many people like English. But if you have to learn about commas and Nathaniel Hawthorne, it should at least be a little bit fun. I am to the point where I want my own class so badly that it consumes most of my thoughts. I don't want to just have it just to have a job. I want it because I love teaching more than anything. I didn't mean for this to get into a whole sappy rant about teaching, so I'll stop. I just can't believe that real world is here. I graduated in December, but now that everyone else is done, it's really hitting me. College passed by so quickly.