Today's Ponderings

As I am sitting here at Doi Chang, a nice little coffee shop in downtown Chiang Rai (which isn't that big of a downtown, in case you're wondering :), I'm reading my textbook about young adult literature and how to integrate reading and writing to make it meaningful for students. The text is peppered with quotes from various writers such as Harry Mazer who wrote, "Writing is a joy, as reading is a joy...as words themselves are a joy; as playing with them, arranging and rearranging them in rows and patterns and letting them dance and sing is a joy." This quote led my mind on a little rabbit trail. Not every student is going to find writing as joyful as Mr. Mazer, though I wish they would; I wish I would. That doesn't mean, though, that students won't find something that gets them fired up. For one, it may be animals. For another, it may be gadgets. Yet another student may be fascinated with outer space. In my opinion, teachers are responsible for fanning the flames of these interests and encouraging students to pursue those things. As a teacher, I need to wholeheartedly believe that the children sitting in front of me could very well be the next Louis Armstrong or Julia Child or Ernest Hemmingway or Bill Gates. Children are SO diverse in their interests, and it is unfair to expect them all to be interested in the same things. I guess I'm just pondering how I might draw those interests out in students and help them be all that they were created to be. I know I am among friends when I say I dream of the moment when a former student comes to me and says what a difference I made in his life for believing in him and encouraging him to pursue his dreams.