I'm a research fiend. I admit it. I love the hunt for obscure facts, the thrill of discovery... far more than the tedium of actually writing the stuff down. So I spend ages sorting through ephemera on tangential subjects that will never actually imbed themselves anywhere but inside my brain JUST BECAUSE that's my idea of a fun weekend.
So, I'm researching along on another book about Salem (no, there can never be too many, shut up) and I come across this. And I must share.
These are real, actual letters written by a third grade class in Salem as part of a school exercise, asking what they would like to be when they grew up. The first is fanciful, something you might expect from an 8 year-old:
This next one is from a boy with a startling grasp of the reality of being a soldier:
"Then I will come home if I am alive." That's sort of chilling to hear from a little kid.
But this last one, this one... for the consummate expression of bleak existentialist crisis, look no further:
I think this is worthy of an OMG.
Can you imagine being 8 years old and knowing the individuality of your life is meaningless? This is 1912. Women can't vote. They aren't expected to have a career - many jobs are simply not open to them. Their property is generally controlled by a father or husband. Elinor is in third grade and she already knows her future:
"I want to be married because there is nothing else to do."
Showing posts with label Important Thought. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Important Thought. Show all posts
Monday, May 2, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
School Funding - Listen up, Idaho!
For a well-reasoned, well-written essay on the reality of teaching in today's public schools, please read:
Thoughts on Policy Changes:
"I teach elementary school. My students hug me at the end of the day. At the start of vacations, they tell me ..."
Thoughts on Policy Changes:
"I teach elementary school. My students hug me at the end of the day. At the start of vacations, they tell me ..."
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