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I taught middle and high school English. Literature and composition and American lit for the seventh and eighth graders. Twain, Austen, Stevenson, Shakespeare. I had them on their feet hurling insults at each other capulrts v montages using empty paper towels for swords. They recited the opening verse in rap beat

The girls discussed the jerk versus skilled qualities they found in Tom Sawyer. Begged to watch the end of the ‘eewww black and white’ pride and prejudice, adoring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier

I got a stack of six classic books to complete in ten months and for am lit I went to the home school store picked up a 1989 edition of holt. No idea what level that text was supposed to be for. Doesn’t matter. Paine, crane, Welty Franklin, everything in between.

Seeing a photo of Redford as Gatsby and saying, ‘oh, Mrs. D. He is cute!’ To murmurs of oh he’s probably really old now. And the how do you not know who he is and Paul Newman is the guy with the salad dressing, prompted a preapproved newman Redford film fest the principal said yes and don’t forget cool hand Luke

They wrote surreal sonnets in teams, parodied the raven in groups and hated the old man and the sea. I never told them what to like

They love looney tunes and were amazed to learn it was all one voice the great Mel blanc. The watched falling off their seats the silent Harold Lloyd hanging off the clock

They recited Tennessee Williams the boys loved impersonating Katherine don’t know why and after knowing the story and characters 28 of them shut up for three whole class periods to watch Taylor and burton as Kate and petruccio, laughing at all the right parts

They said to me once, ‘well, you know, it’s not good because it’s not old’

I corrected them. I said that stuff is good not because it’s old. It’s good because it’s good. It’s going to be up to you guys to get some good culture going’

Young people are just the same as they were when I was their age. The boys are hilarious. They are quick. They despise hypocrisy. They make fun of racism realizing white kids are discriminated against. They hate being bored They like nice people and they are starved for the truth

I refuse to stereotype them or to hate them. This is not their mess. It’s the baby boomers that did this. U.S. Baby boomers. Trump is from 1946 a baby boomer it would be firing for him to lead us out of this because it is these poor hated millennial a who will not only have to flive with the ravages we’ve only begun to see but who we will trust to take care of us when we are old and infirm