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Today I visited junior high once more. The reaction from the kids was kind of neat: about 5 asked me where I'd been and if I'd gotten married already. The rest ignored me...but I don't expect much these days. Every teacher has a secret fantasy of excelling so much in his or her craft that they make the world a distinctly better place. But at this point, I just want to explain the formula for volume in a clear & concise manner. One of the things I like about my volunteer work is the theoretical conversations I keep getting into. For instance, today was "why do we have to learn music?" The basis of her complaint was that, "Vivaldi is boring...why don't they teach us pop music?" Whenever I get into these defenses of education, it's pretty obvious that I'm bizarrely positive about the whole thing. For instance, I enjoy the experience of education, even if I don't like the subject (see: my semester with modern art). It's not an easy position to argue to an 11 year old. In this case, I tried to emote on the value of musical appreciation and judgement, while pointing out that pop music appreciation is already taught practically everywhere else. At least they don't have to sing songs like "Mama's Little Baby Loves Shortening Bread" for 50 minutes twice a week...like I did.
I miss step classes. I can't help but feel that it would be easier to reach my fitness goals if I had regular access to a mirrored room filled with sweaty women in tight clothing. Then again, maybe I just like the little pink baby weights and the fabulous techno gems unearthed by aerobics instructors worldwide. No, that can't be it.
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