Photo credit: Anne Taintor, LLC
I woke up around 4:30 this morning to the sound of all those late summer bugs celebrating our hemisphere’s tilt away from the sun. Some of these insects sound like the bells of Santa’s sleigh in the distance, a soothing sound that seems try and calm the incessant nocturnal arguing of the Katydids. I’m not entirely sure if I went back to sleep after my entomological wake up call but I can think of worse ways to be brought back to reality after a decent night’s sleep.
Lately, I have found myself much more in tune to the sensory aspects of planetary living—the colors, the smells, the sounds, the tastes. I don’t ever remember being so in tune with all of these things and I have to say it feels pretty good. Maybe this is what happy feels like. For years, I have fought against most everything and have even won a few rounds. At 43, I’m already tired. Surely, the embers of my fire are constant and can be fanned into flames when needed but I find myself looking away from triggers more often that engaging them. I have made peace with the ineptitude and ignorance that is not mine to correct. “Oh is that what you think? Cool.” I say to most everyone as I scrunch up my lips. Then I just march on in my shoes and they march on in theirs. My choice is to turn to the only places I have influence—my family, friends, and classroom.
“It’s so…dystopian.” I said to my classes yesterday when discussing the nationwide Tik Tok trend of causing damage and destruction in schools. I don’t know if they know what dystopian means and I’m not even sure if this trend is that but, to me, it feels that way. To these kids, I’m a “boomer” and know nothing. To that I only say “I’m Gen X. Nice Doc Martins kids.” The truth is, I think I might be a reflection of the collective exhaustion felt in this country right now. We’ve been fighting an intellectual civil war for years, decades really. Now here we sit with some social progress with a heavy side of resentment and anger directed toward said progress interspersed with significant attempts to turn back time to the “good ol’ days” when everyone stayed quietly in their own corners. The kids, god bless them, have listened to us adults arguing all of their lives and they’re just as sick of it. The big difference, however, is that they don’t feel the level of exhaustion that we feel and are fueled creatively by obtaining the digital admiration of countless unknowns rather than being fueled by the simple pleasure of creating something tangible and real to be shared. The kids that are wreaking havoc are not the majority but I do think they are indicative of an underlying ill that needs to be addressed. All kids have just gone through a pandemic and have witnessed the inevitable dawning of a new civil rights era. They have access to any knowledge that they wish to gain in the palm of their hand and spent a shocking amount of time using those devices over the past year. What use am I, a human teacher, to them? I ask this seriously not flippantly. I see them. They are FED UP and hungry at the same time. We educators need to figure out a new diet and fast before we become irrelevant.
Long story short, with the sound of insects still in my ears and the taste of coffee in my mouth, I sat in stillness this morning and thought about how I need to find a way to pivot for those I serve. Sure, I could easily keep doing things the way I have always done them. Something tells me, however, that is not the way to go. Alongside these summer bugs, I can hear that chorus of children singing in Pink Floyd’s song “We don’t need no education. We don’t need no thought control. No dark sarcasm in the classroom. Teachers, leave them kids alone. Hey! Teachers! Leave us kids alone!” Although I know that many of us are inclined to do just that, that’s not what that song is about. Further, I have learned that doing the opposite of what I want to do has worked better for me. What this means for what I will teach this year, I have no idea. My instinct is that it lies in nurturing creativity no matter what. Creativity is what makes humans special and that positive energy will turn negative if not engaged. I know that many will disagree with me right now and that’s OK. I have no desire to argue with anyone anymore. “Oh is that what you think?” I will say. “Cool.” Then I’ll pivot in my shoes and figure a way to make things better because, all in all, I’m just another brick.
I agree. Creative writing club, maybe?