Sometimes students can be brutally honest. As a teacher, I figure I can respond to that brutal honesty either by being defensive or by being satisfied that our relationship is at least built on sincerity. Today students in my sophomore class wrote little speeches I call the Sell Something Speech–they pick something in the room or from their bag, craft a good opener and attempt to reason with us and sell it to us. It’s a warm up for the persuasive speech they’ve got coming. This is what one young man presented to the class after stalking up the the lectern with a copy of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in his hand:
Everybody has a time in their life when they have the urge to read. Books, magazines, and newspapers are among the best to read. Well, I’m here to tell you that you don’t need to have that feeling anymore.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is the answer. If you suffer from a disease that causes you to like reading, this book is a must. It will make you not want to read another book in your life. Scientists say 95% of the people in my English class are glad we are done reading it.
Be careful when reading this play in a book and don’t read too much at any one time. But lack of use may result in a care about reading. Side effects may include: drowsiness, headache, backache, side ache, heart attack, mild foot pain from kicking it across the room, and a lack of possible fun that could have been had instead of reading.
If you come to the front of the class I will give you a copy free of charge and if you are the first one up here I will give you all of the copies I can find; they make really good fire starters.
I could explain why this young man likely felt this way about the book, but instead I’ll just laugh. Keep in mind, I’m not “laughing it off”; I’m laughing, because what he said was funny, and that’s about all there is to it.
Thanks for reading.
- Scene from A Midsummer Night’s Dream on Flickr by: Hunter333
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