Pearls of Teenage (and Matt) Wisdom

I'm grading my first batch of essays of the year--always a difficult undertaking.

The students wrote about culture and its effects on individuals.  One student wrote, "If you witness a doctor heal a fatally sick patient, then you may be more inclined to become a doctor."

I laughed and shared this line with Matt.  He shouted, "Lazarus!  It's possible!"

I said, "Okay, with the exception of Jesus Christ, this is a completely ridiculous statement."

Matt thought for a minute and calmly replied, "Regardless, if I saw a doctor do that, I would definitely want to become a doctor.  I just think you're overlooking some things."

Reason number 763 why Matthew Scherer should never become an English teacher.

Baby Dreams

Before Matt and I got married, we talked about what we were looking forward to most about being married.  We always said that we weren't looking forward to anything specific or particularly exciting--just everyday life together.  In spite of the many nice outings we've had and great vacations we've taken, the best parts of our marriage are still the boring nights at home with no one but each other.

When we think about having Franny, we look forward to the same thing.  Last night I had a dream that Franny and I were alone together in his room.  Franny was eating, and I was telling him a story.  We heard Barley whine downstairs like he does every day when Matt gets home, and Matt soon came upstairs to join us.  Franny got so excited to see Matt and Barley, and we all just sat in his room for hours doing nothing.  Blissful, beautiful nothing.

Defending Against Pearls of Teenage Wisdom

My two female students from yesterday's post asked me later how we plan to decorate our baby's room if we aren't finding out the gender ahead of time.  I told them that we're going to decorate with primary colors and a lot of book covers as artwork, specifically Dick and Jane.  We received a wonderful homemade Dick and Jane blanket from Matt's mom that inspired the idea. 

One girl's response to this adorable idea was less than supportive, however: "A book room?  Seriously?  Uck."  Then she kind of glared at my belly and said, "That kid is going to be so freaking smart."

Instinctively, I turned my belly away from her and said, "Well, I hope so!"  Franny isn't even fully baked, and already I'm having to defend against bullies.

Pearls of Teenage Wisdom

I was talking with a few of my students near the end of the day on Friday--two girls and a boy.  The girls were asking all sorts of questions about our baby, and they finally asked if we're going to find out the gender.  The poor boy sitting next to them was so confused.

Girls: "So is it a boy or a girl?"
Me: "Yes, one of those."
Girls: "Are you going to find out which?"
Me: "Nope."
Boy: (After a long pause to consider what he'd just heard)  EVER?!

Def Poetry...Womb Style

I started this school year with poetry from HBO's series Def Poetry Jam.  Call it "gangster poetry," call it "street poetry," call it "slam poetry."  Whatever you call it, there's no denying that it's poetry--seriously powerful poetry.

Franny was especially moved by the last poem we analyzed today: "Knock Knock" by Daniel Beaty.  I could feel him jumping around throughout the performance, but especially at the end.  Can you blame him?



Franny has such soul.