Emcee Cain

Okay, after telling you about some of the major frustrations I experience as a result of my choice of teaching assignments, I'll tell you some of the things that keep me hooked. There are many things I love about my students, colleagues and teaching, which is why I am willing to put up with (okay, try to change) the things that aren't so great. Here's something funny that happened recently in my classroom.

LJ began to read an article outlining the major party Presidential candidates' positions on energy and environmental issues. He's typical of many of my students in that his parents don't speak English in the home and had little education themselves, so they do not subscribe to any newspapers or watch news programs in English. When LJ came across the first candidate named in the article he pronounced his name John Emcee Cain; he didn't know it was really pronounced MickCain. Fortunately LJ has a terrific sense of humor about himself and is not easily embarassed or offended....because I and a few of the other students who knew the correct pronunciation couldn't help but laugh. If it had been one of my more uptight students, I would have had to tamp down my laughter and given a short, but serious lesson on the correct pronunciation of the Gaelic prefix. But the big smile on LJ's face and his own laughter at his innocent mistake allowed us all to enjoy the fun teachable moment. Of course, I went on to ask him if he thought Obama was Irish too, but he didn't get that either. Actually, none of them did, so I explained what I meant. (Now can you see why I am always behind on my pacing plans? I'm repeatedly brought up short by the gaping holes in cultural and academic information my students reveal. I typically choose to take advantage of all teachable moments like this.)

I told LJ that I think of him everytime I see Emcee Cain's name printed and it brings a smile to my face. He has since dropped the AP class, due largely to the fact that he couldn't keep up with reading a rigorous college-level science text and engage in analytical thinking. Due to his lack of exposure to news, he has almost no knowledge of what is going on outside of his own community (unless it's on MySpace, of course!). I told him that it would be a good idea for him to read the newspaper regularly for the next year and come back and try the class again next year when he's a Senior. I hope he does!