Ian’s blogomatic

Teachers frequently despair that their students are so coddled. That their students are so used to having everything done for them that any initiative they might have had has evaporated. I know I'm sounding like a grandfather if I say "They have never had to work for anything in their lives", but this pretty much covers it. They don't make a serious effort for anything that does not have an immediate pay off. They don't have to, because Mummy buys it or sorts it out for them. This is one of the reasons my daughter, who I miss terribly, is away at boarding school. A good life requires some self drive and resourcefulness - you don't get this if you are never forced to think or act for yourself.

In thinking about this, I have been playing with the idea of reading The Grapes of Wrath to my students. This is a book that had a huge impact on me and made me appreciate what I had as a young man. I remember I read it on holidays at the beach - every time I put it down (which wasn't often) I was starving. However, I have been teaching long enough now to realise such a project is quixotic. Like many of the plans I dream up to help my students it would only work in some inspiring teacher movie. Not in real life with these students and this teacher. They would be bored in about five minutes and I would be angry with their lack of attention.

I came across Scratch Beginnings this morning. This is the story of a young American man who sets out to prove to himself that he has the sort of drive I am thinking about. Adam Shepard  travels to a city he doesn't know with $25, a sleeping bag and an empty gym bag to start a new life at the bottom. Without using his contacts, his credit history or his college education he is determined to show he can get from there to a comfortable life in a year.

I suspect his direct language and the cover image of a good looking guy in cargo shorts and sneakers might make a favourable enough impression on my students till they can get caught up in the story. Worth a try anyway. I've ordered it.

(links to Amazon)