The Circle Game

Today in my 6th and 7th period class, the usually-dominant and obnoxious clique (with frustratingly regular attendance) was gone... all, i learned, either "in" or "at" a fight. sigh. the class was deflated without their perky and bullying and often amusing presence, and so, halfway through, i dragged all my students and their desks into a circle. it was an amazing experience... they resisted, but there was something about it as it happened, when they realized it wasn't kindergarten but rather, college that they were preparing for, and that I could see all of them, and they could all see each other...and suddenly books opened, voices quieted. I really liked it, the mellowness, the sophistication. But then I started thinking, oh f*ck, what if all high school classes in the inner city were like this, this small, and in a circle, with everyone accountable from day one, and that just got me all pissed for a change.

So we shall see if i decide to keeo the circle thing going. But it gave us a moment, and Joni Mitchell would be proud.

**Oh, speaking of badass sixties figures, I also played Neil Young's "The Needle and the Damage Done" and we compared it to Piri Thomas' description of junkies...