that it is a game-show-theme inflected (listen to "race for the prize" to get the full effect) concept record about, wait for it, scientists trying to save the world, only makes it exponentially better.
that the magical answer is "love," and is so without it being cheesy or lame at all (from someone who can no longer stomach most of the hippie love-in that accompanies this sort of sentiment, this is high praise) is a testament to how incredible a record this is.
the line "putting all the vegetables away" will take on entirely new, heavy, emotional resonance after spending some time with the track "suddenly everything has changed." i wouldn't lie to you.
point is, as i see the last 14 days of school laid out before me, i kind of feel like the scientists on the record.
and though they were sad"a spoonful weighs a ton" ...talking about how dense the sun is and the mass of something like it is a pretty great lil' metaphor.
they rescued everyone
they lifted up the sun
a spoonful weighs a ton
giving more than they had
the process had begun
a million came from one
the limits now were none
being drunk on their plan, they lifted up the sun
this last spoonful of school weighs a ton.
the amount of material i have to cover is, at best, daunting. i have 14 days to tie an entire year together into something coherent.
i did not plan well.
this is to say nothing of the emotional weirdness that is plaguing me.
i can already feel myself missing some of these kids.
granted, i'll see some of them in the halls, but there are many of them that i've taken as a consistent and necessary part of the day.
play fighting with daniel ending with the kid bear hugging me, looking up, and saying "i love you, november." i then respond with "you suck, daniel." or the other way around. all depends on the day, really.
junissa and maria tackling me at the beginning of sixth period every day, early for that class, but late for the eighth period class they are scheduled for.
walking down the hall to round up my ninth period class, all of whom are standing 40 feet away at the stairwell talking to their friends and waiting for me to come get them.
trading jabs with jason during fourth period until he, inevitably, draws a giant dick on the chalkboard.
watching robert, in the same class, express his approval with a thumbs up and an "ok mistah!" or shaking his head and saying "oh mah gahd...." some of the only english he knows. also among the coolest human beings on the planet.
having tyrell ask me, every day, "why's it gotta be black?" and responding "because i'm a racist." then both of us laughing and him clapping my back. this kid also writes really funny poems about how he hates the elderly. a future onion writer...seriously.
watching, and being completely annoyed by, justin and barbara breaking up or hooking up in my class, EVERY FUCKING DAY! but also knowing that they are two of the best kids in the building.
being greeted, daily, by george with a firm handshake and a "how are you today?" ...then me inevitably screwing up the eleven-part long-distance handshake he taught me in january as he gets to his seat.
these are just the first few things to come to mind.
they feel like family.
i never knew that it would end up feeling like this.
i had no idea.
yelling as hard as they canthese kids have their own fucking gravity. a spoonful, most certainly, weighs a ton.
the doubters all were stunned
heard louder than a gun
the sound they made was love
1 comment:
That sounds rad, I wish I had a white teacher in school.
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