blog entry

Into the Wild With Walden

I couldn't resist the W's

I don't talk a lot about my job, mainly because I don't want to get fired before I start. I'm an educator, in case you didn't know. As a matter of fact, after a year like last year, the only words coming out of my mouth were four-lettered ones, none too nice. NONE. To catch everyone up, I left my job in the public school system in June, and will be beginning a new adventure at a private, all male sports academy next week. No girl drama, thank God, Buddha, Allah and Oprah. I am well aware that utopia and nirvana do not await me, but it has to be better than 9th grade. Has to be. I want my students to read a classic or two (go figure), and have decided to teach Walden by Thoreau, followed by Into the Wild by Krakauer. I COULD go into detail, but I'm afraid you might fall asleep and drool on the keyboard, and that could get messy, so I won't. In prepping for this particular unit, I thought it might be a good idea for me to actually read Walden while NOT smoking weed. Thank you college pothead friends. (That was years ago, future and present bosses). Imagine my dismay when I cracked open to page number one, only to discover that this book is H.A.R.D! There are big words, sentences, no text type, no CNN-style tickers, no 30 second snippets. I am having to THINK! There are even words I have had to look up. It's refreshing in that I am actually using my brain. I also realize that after these boys are finished with my class, they will hate me. Sweet.