Life Lessons from Steinbeck

I suppose my love of literature came from my parents, who read to me often as a child.  It is a common sight for me to walk into my parents' house and see my dad reading The New Yorker in the living room, and my mom, the latest crime thriller in her bed.  It is also common for dad to cut out articles to send along with me to read in my precious spare time.  Last week, he gave me the inside cover of his New Yorker which was an advertisement for a Broadway revival of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. This couldn't have been more timely, as I am currently wrapping up my unit on this novel with my Writing Through Literature I class.

As I left for work this morning, I grabbed the ad and figured I'd show it to my kids.  What happened next is one of those moments most teachers dream of.  After the bell rang and the announcements concluded I asked my students to take out their copy of the novel and look up when it was published.  Yes, I actually made them look in the book instead of google it on their smartphones.  The first time Of Mice and Men was published was in 1937.  Doing some quick math, my kids figured that was 77 years ago.  Then I held up the advertisement. Some of the girls were very excited to see James Franco headlining as George Milton.  It appears they feel about him the way I felt about Heath Ledger or Freddie Prinze Jr. circa the late 1990s.  The boys in the room were impressed to see Chris O'Dowd of Bridesmaids fame in the role of Lennie Small. Leighton Meester, of Gossip Girl, will be starring as Curley's Wife.  These aren't new, struggling actors trying to make names for themselves.  These are stars in their own right, portraying some of the most notable characters in American Literature.

But why?  I asked my students, why after 77 years and two film adaptations would anyone bother to turn this book into a play?  Why after 77 years, when there is so much literature in the world do we still teach this novel?  I asked them to think about that for a minute.  And the response I got after a minute or so of silence blew me away. One of my students raised his hand and said, "because it will always endure."  I shouted, "yes!" - like I had never heard anything so brilliant in all my life. I asked this young man to explain what he meant by that and he went on to describe the various motifs we've discussed in class: prejudice, friendship, loneliness, and dreams.

As our brief discussion continued, the kids made a lot of great connections to prejudice and loneliness in today's society. It is evident in the media how much prejudice is still part of our every day lives.  But the true enduring themes of this novel are friendship and dreams.  George's final act in the novel was one of complete selflessness.  He chose to protect Lennie the only way he could. But the dream of the little ranch could not exist without Lennie, so the dream died.  But as my students came to understand from this story - dreams provide hope.

77 years later, people still have dreams. My students have dreams - many of them are big dreams, too.  And I hope as they grow and try to achieve them, they will always remember the importance of friendship and allow their dreams to give them  hope.

Thank you, Mr. Steinbeck, for a novel that will always endure.


-MR

Completion No Longer Counts...

I got an email from a student toward the end of the semester. She was not happy with her final grade and believed she deserved a higher score because she "did all the work." I've also had a few email exchanges with parents who have told me to look at their students' middle school English Language Arts grades, which would reflect all A's.  Middle school and high school are two very different animals. No longer can a student just "do all the work" and get the A he/she wants.

My job as a teacher of writing is to help students develop their skills to the best of their ability, which doesn't always reflect A quality work.  I don't think it should in the first semester of Freshmen year, because if it did, my job would be unnecessary. What would I have to teach them if they knew it all?  Learning and skill development is a continual process.  I try to write something of my own every day because I know I need continue developing my own skills as a writer in order to continue helping my students develop theirs. 

I'd like to get them past this idea that just doing the work means getting an A.  Does a lawyer win his case simply because he showed up to the trial? No. Does an Olympian deserve a gold medal simply for competing? No.  Somewhere along the way, students were taught that simply completing work makes it deserving of the highest accolade. 

I would love for a C on an essay to feel like a huge accomplishment if that is the best a kid can do at that moment in time. The goal is progress and growth, regardless of how much or little that may be.  I want my students to look at their grades and say "I did my best, and that is all that matters." And if they want more, I want them to strive for it - reach for more and work hard until they get where they want to be.  Nothing worth achieving is ever easy.  I learned this lesson myself many years ago when I was a student struggling in math classes.  It wasn't until I let go of wanting the "good grade" that I was able to truly look at myself and say "I did the best I could - and that is enough."

That is my wish for these kids - that they try their absolute best and are proud of themselves for whatever that may mean for them.

As always,
-MR