Chapter 7: Teaching English,Reading Poetry,Living in the World

“I realize the site director is doing her best, trying to find a placement to fit with my impossible schedule... but a ceramics class after school?” “Sounds odd, I realize,” I say, putting faith in the director of the Family Literacy Center and trying to reassure my new student who is doubting the tuition he paid for the service-learning portion of my class. “But if you’re going to be an English teacher,” I continue, “you’ll be in English classes for your whole career. The kids in the ceramics class are on the verge of dropping out. The principal created it as part of a last-ditch-effort-program to get the students curious about school again. Consider what you could learn in ceramics... What could you learn about the students? What could you learn about you? What could you learn that would make you a stronger English teacher?”