Office by Alex Penny
Last week I showed my classes the 1984 Superbowl commercial as an introduction to Orwell’s 1984. Today, a student offered me a hug in the hallway. Not making the connection, and being in a hurry, I laughed him off. Later in class, as other students mentioned that they had thought of me when they heard the news, he repeated his offer and I accepted. This heartened me because driving to school this morning I wondered if one of the 2,500+ students I would teach in the next 15 years would be a Steve Jobs. Moreover, I wondered if he or she would benefit from my English class at all. However, now I see that it is my job to explain how to think differently through the literature I teach, and that a few students thought of me yesterday shows that I am getting through.
