At some point in your school career you were probably made to read Steinbeck's classic tale Of Mice and Men. Each year it is a favorite unit of my students. I read several parts aloud, and my students grow to love Lennie. We laugh at his simple mind and dream along with him. While many students know of the ending before we get there (thank you, The Middle and Family Guy!), many others are shocked by the abrupt and discouraging outcome. We like happy endings best, don't we? As we wrapped up with discussion today, I introduced my students to Robert Burns's poem, "To a Mouse." In the second-to-last stanza we find the allusion for the novella's title: "But little Mouse, you are not alone, / In proving foresight may be vain: / The best laid schemes of mice and men / Go often askew." I quoted a translated version, but you can read both here. In a nutshell, a farmer is plowing in his field when he runs over a nest of mice, causing him to reflect on the gossamer fabric of our lives. My coworker Angela was called away on a family emergency today. I went next door to watch over her class for a few minutes, and I couldn't stop thinking about just how damn transient our lives are. Angela had been planning a relaxing break and time with family, and suddenly she was whisked into the bleak unknown. It's true for all of us, isn't it? We plan, we scheme, we hope, we dream, but ultimately, one turn of the wheel or one call from the doctor, and it all goes up in smoke. Depressing, isn't it? That's the heavy mood that hung over my classroom today as we discussed the dream of Lennie and his rabbits. "Does that mean we stop dreaming?" I asked my students. Their reaction was split. "Does it even really matter?" some wondered. I won't stop dreaming. I know that. But I also know that I'm going to hug my boys a bit closer when they get off the bus this afternoon. I'm going to tell my husband just how much I love him, and I'm going to walk away from this building for the next five days reflective and wondering. And in the meantime, living.
2 Comments
Allison Berryhill
11/22/2016 08:42:09 pm
I am considering you my Blogging Partner this month! THANK YOU!
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greg stevens
11/22/2016 10:05:07 pm
Thanks, Kim. I'm in awe of what you get out of kids and can express through writing.
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