Tracks to Clementine

Will Power

As it is Saturday, I would like to report my most difficult task of the week. Given all that is going on--moving the theatre, continually writing that script I said was supposed to be done by 6pm on July 30th (I totally cheated), researching baby products (I can't stop) and recovering from a root canal with near-zero pain meds--you'd think that I'd cite, well, one of those things I already cited.

But, no!

Because, lo!

The most difficult thing for me this week was preventing myself from correcting the 9-year-old boy who misused the phrase "The tension is so thick in here you could cut it with a knife."

Friends, there was no tension. I had just given my students a writing exercise and this particular kid really really hates to write. So, instead of just focusing on the task and noting that quiet means people are working, he attributed it to tension. I imagine that his own feelings were that of tension, but considering that the exercise was to add on to each students braggarty poem of how awesome they were (singular they, people, singular they), I guarantee you that tension was not felt by all.

Why didn't I correct him? Two reasons (that should be pretty obvious): one, it would have been kinda mean and two, it would have distracted the other students from what they were supposed to be doing.

And there's a third reason: playing house. Not, like, dolls and stuff, but the playing house that means that kids are trying out things they've experienced out in the world. Y'know, like when teenagers write plays with ridiculous adult characters and situations--they're just playing around with other experiences. It's important...and gives them something to laugh at later.

Truly, it was pondering the above that gave me the strength to keep my mouth shut.

(You may have noticed I have zero will power when it comes to use of parantheses.)

Posted by Ida at August 4, 2007 07:58 PM