Papa, Part II
There was Tolkien, a few seats away from Amy Tan. Across from me sat Ernest Hemingway. To his right was Dostoevsky. To his left was, well, Dostoevsky. They each stood in turn and told us a bit about themselves. Papa held an empty liquor bottle and swaggeringly declared that he was quite sure we'd already heard of him. The Dostoevsky's talked about their exile in Siberia and spent a good deal of time arguing over which one of them was the REAL Fyodor. Two hours of pasta, authors, and chatting with students absolutely flew by.It's always refreshing talking to students outside the classroom. For one thing, religion is no longer off limits. I talked to an Indian student of mine, Mandeep, about Dostoevsky's conversion to Christianity. And I chatted with Dostoevsky #2 and her mother (yes, both Fyodor's were female) about Philip Yancey and his love for the Russian author. Our host, AP lit teacher Cheryl Catanzarite, came over at one point and talked to a mom about how wonderful her daughter is and how she appreciates her open faith and her Christian spirit. How nice to be able to share who we really are.
I've been more open this year about my work for the church. I've treated it as simply sharing what's important to me with my classes. It's led to better relationships and great conversation. It's unfortunate to still feel as though I'm walking on eggshells, but freeing too. I've written before about learning many things from my 4-year-old son...but I never forget that high school students have a lot to teach me too.
posted by Thurman8er @ 10:37 AM
2 Comments:
Those students are fortunate to have you in their high school lives. You are a permanent and eternal blessing to them...(as you are to me.)
i second what she said
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