A few years ago I read Tuck Everlasting with my middle school students and had them brainstorm a momento mori phrase we could write and put next to the clock by the door, as a reminder that both death was coming and that the more they wished time would go by for class to be over, the more their very lives passed them by. We did a little poll, one phrase won, and I put it up on posterboard by the clock. Only thing is, I can’t remember the phrase. How I wish I could. But time wears away at us all and robs us of the little things, these little memories that make us ourselves, until we exit life as the same tabula rasa we were at birth. Like waves slipping in, and out, leaving nothing but smooth sand left in their wake; a half memory of what used to be, as the cycle of life and tine churns ever on.
had them brainstorm a momento mori phrase we could write and put next to the clock by the door, as a reminder that both death was coming and that the more they wished time would go by for class to be over, the more their very lives passed them by.
hmm I’m trying to remember how they reacted, and honestly they couldn’t entirely remember. I think they liked voting for which one went up there, mostly because middle schoolers really like voicing their opinion. Probably a lot of them thought it was dumb, and some of them thought it was neat. To be honest, any way that middle schoolers are interacting with the subject of death is going to be fairly surface-level given where they are in their development as humans. But, I hope I was able to give them some of the tools to really begin exploring what these ideas mean to them, especially when the ideas and feelings start hitting like semis as they age. We also did a bunch of cool things, like I had a quarter where each week we’d read a fairy/folk tale or two centered around an idea (beauty, greed, evil, etc.), and then read some philosophy/news adjusted to their level that complimented the idea, and then they’d do some writing or whatever. Pretty fun. Kids seemed to actually like it tbh
But then I moved from my struggling rural district to a polarized rural/suburban district, and the kids there hated it and whined everything was too dark smh
I am a staunch advocate of giving middle schoolers existential crises and I’m tired of pretending that it’s wrong. All those little shits know now if fort night iphone and dab. A little fear and wonder would do them well!
This is the good shit right here 😫 somehow the pseudo-fatalism squashes my ennui and makes me want to become a beacon of pure love for my fellow lost fireflies winking and blinking in the long, dark night of the cosmos
A few years ago I read Tuck Everlasting with my middle school students and had them brainstorm a momento mori phrase we could write and put next to the clock by the door, as a reminder that both death was coming and that the more they wished time would go by for class to be over, the more their very lives passed them by. We did a little poll, one phrase won, and I put it up on posterboard by the clock. Only thing is, I can’t remember the phrase. How I wish I could. But time wears away at us all and robs us of the little things, these little memories that make us ourselves, until we exit life as the same tabula rasa we were at birth. Like waves slipping in, and out, leaving nothing but smooth sand left in their wake; a half memory of what used to be, as the cycle of life and tine churns ever on.
Hanging on in quiet desperation
Is the English way
The time is gone, the song is over
Thought I’d something more to say
– c/o The Funny Farm
Jeez! Are you TRYING to traumatize them? 😄
I’m just trying to imagine how i would have reacted, because through middle school i was pretty much ignorant about it.
hmm I’m trying to remember how they reacted, and honestly they couldn’t entirely remember. I think they liked voting for which one went up there, mostly because middle schoolers really like voicing their opinion. Probably a lot of them thought it was dumb, and some of them thought it was neat. To be honest, any way that middle schoolers are interacting with the subject of death is going to be fairly surface-level given where they are in their development as humans. But, I hope I was able to give them some of the tools to really begin exploring what these ideas mean to them, especially when the ideas and feelings start hitting like semis as they age. We also did a bunch of cool things, like I had a quarter where each week we’d read a fairy/folk tale or two centered around an idea (beauty, greed, evil, etc.), and then read some philosophy/news adjusted to their level that complimented the idea, and then they’d do some writing or whatever. Pretty fun. Kids seemed to actually like it tbh
But then I moved from my struggling rural district to a polarized rural/suburban district, and the kids there hated it and whined everything was too dark smh
I remember that we watched the dead poets society in middle school. It flew completely over my head.
I also went to middle school in Brazil for 2 years, some kids my age were like adults to me. Nowadays i sadly understand, how this is possible.
I am a staunch advocate of giving middle schoolers existential crises and I’m tired of pretending that it’s wrong. All those little shits know now if fort night iphone and dab. A little fear and wonder would do them well!
As a childless man with social anxiety, I endorse your method for getting children to go away and STAY away. 😄
brb, boutta update my teaching philosophy in case I decide to go on the job market again
This is the good shit right here 😫 somehow the pseudo-fatalism squashes my ennui and makes me want to become a beacon of pure love for my fellow lost fireflies winking and blinking in the long, dark night of the cosmos
fucking beautiful, stealing it
You’re welcome to it, you beautiful firefly