“Keep an eye out for all students, not just the rowdy ones. Teachers pay attention to the loud kids, but often it’s the quiet kids that they should watch out for.” (Cushman 55)

I really appreciated the excerpts from Fires in the Bathroom, because it was refreshing to hear from actual students about how they want to be taught. However, reading the piece also reminded me of how difficult it is to be a teacher. It’s not enough just to be an expert in your content area; but you also have to have fantastic interpersonal skills and be able to brand yourself in a certain way. The rather contradictory answers in the excerpt made me think of a teacher walking a tight rope, trying to find the balance between too much and too little. Continue reading It’s Always the Quiet Ones →

“In a way, I think of it like being Spider-Man, you know? Like he’s so strong and brave, but he can’t really identify as Spider-Man because he knows it will hurt everyone he loves. And I think I war between that you know, like part of me wants to be, you know, the person that my mom wants to be, but then I realize that I’m a greater person when I’m not the person she wants me to be.” (Sadowski 139)

This piece, especially coming after the election of a vice president who believes in gay-conversion therapy, highlights the level of hate that still exists towards the LGBTQ community and the very real fears LGBTQ students have. I chose this passage because I felt that it truly embodied the confusion and struggle to form an identity as a human being. Continue reading Acts of Heroism →

“But equally important may be the role of a female friend, a potential, if not actual “girlfriend”. Five of the high school shooters had what they felt was serious girl trouble, especially with rejection. It may be that they boys who are best able to resist the torments of incessant bullying, gay-baiting, and marginalization are those who have some girls among their friends, and perhaps even a girlfriend – that is, girls who can also validate their sense of masculinity (which other boys can do as well) as well as their heterosexuality (which boys alone cannot do)” (Kimmel 108)

I chose this excerpt from Michael Kimmel’s piece I am not insane: I am angry, because I could not find myself advocating for what he proposed. Why does the burden of validating a potential school shooter’s sexuality and masculinity fall on females? Continue reading Take One For The Team: Date Your Local School Shooter? →