"What do you believe?"
Um. Well. I...uh...
Why am I the only one who seems to think this is a rather vague question? Marcus didn't think so. And he pressed me on it. For an hour.
On the one hand, I appreciate his curiosity. But, he had work to do. Work he wasn't doing. Work he would have neglected anyway, but I'd have rather not been his distraction.
Most days I can wave this question off. Whether or not the students really care (and aren't doing it as a way of getting out of doing their work) isn't my concern. When I'm there, they usually have an assignment. And while I don't forbid discussions of belief (so long as no one is denigrating anyone else's, an open discussion about the topic I think is a good thing), I'd rather they remain on task.
But it was me and two boys. So, pushing the question aside was harder than I thought.
Marcus is a very inquisitive student. Maybe one day he'll figure out how to channel that in a more positive manner.
Friday, February 28, 2014
6 comments:
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I respond to comments* via email, unless your profile email is not enabled. Then, I'll reply in the comment thread. Eventually. Probably.
*Exception: I do not respond to "what if?" comments, but I do read them all. Those questions are open to your interpretation, and I don't wish to limit your imagination by what I thought the question was supposed to be.
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Religious beliefs, I assume?
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, those small classes do make it mighty hard to deflect.
The easiest answer seems to be "Lots of things." A vague question deserves a vague answer.
ReplyDeleteIMO, beliefs are personal, which is probably how I'd have responded. Maturity is realizing it isn't WHAT we believe but HOW we believe that's important—how we exercise our convictions. An individual's beliefs are irrelevant if there's respect.
ReplyDeleteVR Barkowski
Hi Liz, just stopping by to say how delightful your blog is. Thanks so much for sharing. I have recently found your blog and am now following you, and will visit often. Please stop by my blog and perhaps you would like to follow me also. Have a wonderful day. Hugs, Chris
ReplyDeletehttp://chelencarter-retiredandlovingit.blogspot.ca/
There are some lines kids cross. They don't get it. They can ask, and we can choose to answer. But our age, marriage status, and religion isn't something we usually talk about right away--unless you work with kids.
ReplyDeleteThose are the first things they ask...
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