the eugene bean

On Thursday mornings I teach a 45 minute, "How to be a better person and care about the world around you" class. I discovered the need for this class based on one of my student's desires that the US troops be pulled out of Iraq and then the Middle East nuked till it's nothing but a dusty crater. And that's a direct quote.

This Thursday's lesson was about values. Specifically, what are the values that make you the person you are? What are your core beliefs, your philosophy of life? And it was hard, because it's not about what you value, it's more how you internalize those things that you value until they become part of your person- the real stuff that makes you, you. In other words, you may value beef jerky. But is beef jerky one of your values?

Anyway, I had the kids make a list of their core values, and number them in order of importance. Then, we'd split into groups and compare the values to see what we had in common. After much bitching and moaning and a little bit of, "I can't believe you're making us think so hard, what is this, school?" I decided to do the assignment as well. And you know what? I started bitching and moaning right along with them.

After much deliberation, this is what I came up with:

1. my nuclear family is the basis of all decisions that I make- Ty, J and E are my world
2. my health is of utmost importance if I want to live my life to the fullest
3. the freedom to make my own choices is a necessity of my life
4. my extended family made me, and then sculpted me throughout my life- they are the reason behind my values
5. frankness is a virtue- being open and honest and not passive aggressive is something I'm proud of
6. home- the concept of it as the shelter from the storm, the pure relief of knowing that I have a place to lock the front door, change into my jammies, sink onto the sofa, and do nothing
7. friends are necessary to keep me sane, and grounded, and they help me remember who I am if I start to forget

And you know, the class had more than a few in common. Almost all of us valued the freedom of religion, the importance of family, the importance of a safe home, and the necessity of friends you can trust. And at the risk of sounding like a sappy moron, we all learned a little more about each other, the teacher and the jock and the class clown and the shy girl and the glue eater, and there was a mutual respect all around the room.

At the end of the lesson I asked my nuclear loving student if he thought that kids in Iraq were at school right now, learning something cool about the world around them. He thought for a minute, and then said that he'd hope the military would come up with a plan to remove all the kids in Iraq before the bombs dropped.

And that's progress.