Coal River

Do you know what the hardest part of teaching is, for realz? It’s the subversion of your actual beliefs all day long in order to play the part (metaphorically) of Switzerland. It’s so hard sometimes, like when you just want to start rippin’ big time on Bush and Republicans today, but it’s your moral duty to not do those things and to try to remain level headed and neutral about everything. Something that will forever be vividly planted in my memory is sitting in high school biology and listening to a “debate” on abortion (really just Rose vs. the rednecks that made up 95% of my school). Even as a 15 year old, I knew that the teacher should not be letting this happen (it started when a student was allowed to pass out anti-abortion propaganda) and that it bothered me.

We’re going really deep into coal in my APES class and I showed the documentary “The Last Mountain” today, which was spearheaded by the amazing RFK Jr. and something you should stream through Amazon RIGHT NOW. It’s such a good look into our dependence on coal and the impact of that dependence on Appalachia. Then there’s the political shadiness that is omnipresent in politics today and a strong condemnation of the Bush administration (when is there not really?). All in all, a really good documentary, but when I was asking for feedback, a student totally started going off on Bush and political corruption and corporate donations. These are all things I would agree with, but then you look around and 26 other people are staring at you and you realize that some of them don’t agree with that and that as the designated adult (wtf?), it is your responsibility to get off that ledge. Man, it’s painful. I think I actually defended GWBush today….for the greater good. It felt so weird and dishonest, but my mind kept saying “MORAL DUTY”. Maybe this is what it feels like to be a cop. It was also the tightest lesson I’ve ever given, which feels like a good accomplishment.