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Laugh With Me

I'm starting to believe that the greatest sign of mental health is the ability to laugh at one's self. Teaching renders many opportunities to test this theory. I decided today to share with my students some of my own high school writing samples. Students are funny creatures when you share anything remotely personal with them. At first, they glanced upward at me, stifling the growing giggles. One brave soul would chuckle out loud for all of us to hear. By the time I could barely read through my laughter, they joined me. We had a great time, and I ended the exhibition by telling them they could never be afraid again to share their writing in class.

On a personal note, I'm so glad that I was able to save my file folder of teenaged writing. It is a mixed up collection of English writing assignments, poetry scribbled on spiral notebook paper, reflections on life, and even my falling-apart Bible complete with margin notes. What a walk down memory lane. As I read my classmates and friends' hand-written comments on my papers, I wished I was at home so I wouldn't have to hold back the tears welling in my eyes. Each statement brought to life some real memory of them. One day when I have a moment to myself I will sit down with them again and see where the memories take me.

So here are my lessons for today from my old papers:
***Emotions make for lousy persuasive arguments.***
***Not every idea you have is better than everyone else's.***
***A good plan--or at least part of a plan--is better than no plan at all.***
***Never be afraid of showing that you know how to screw up.***

Comments

Rebecca Jeffries-Hyman said…
I am totally into your lessons! And I can speak for the value of pulling out those high school papers now and again. I have always chucked my writing quickly after I re-read it, but I did manage to keep nearly every note passed to me in class and nearly every card ever sent to me. What a treasure! If you do set aside time to read those things, you'll gain new insight into yourself, into how other people perceive you, and you'll be really glad you're a grown-up now!

<3 Christy
1:46 PM
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