Back To School

 So last week my friend Loni, who teaches English at Palmetto High, asked if I would be a guest lecturer in three of her AP classes. They were reading "12 Angry Men," and Loni thought I might explain some of the legal stuff. Could I do it on Zoom, I asked. Yes -- classes were still virtual. Do I have to grade papers? No -- I did not. I agreed.

I've taught a bit of college over the years. In the Fall of my 2L and 3L years, I taught Freshman Composition at UM. I enjoyed it, and the extra money was nice -- supplemented my GSL and NDSL loans well.

After that, my friend Steve, Chair of Religious Studies, and I developed and taught "Religion and Law." We taught it two times -- the last close to 20 years ago. I really enjoyed teaching, but, like most things in life, didn't enjoy the scut work -- grading papers.

The biggest reason I haven't taught since then is laziness, and inertia. I looked forward to the three sessions.

And they were terrific. The kids were bright, and some asked very insightful questions. I know you can't notice or mention race these days, but since I'm just a volunteer, I can. An Asian girl asked me about something called "jury nullification," and I had never heard the term. I wanted to respond "Look sweetie, how about you ask your professors at MIT or Cal Tech, where you're likely headed," but of course instead invited her to email Loni. She did, and I looked into it, and actually learned something myself. How about that!

I ended up doing three sessions, and enjoyed them all. It was terrific -- I told the kids I was in quarantine, and I'm sure Wifey was a bit tired of listening to me. They had no choice! I thanked them for being a great audience.

If I could teach this way, I would make a career change. No dressing up -- just sit in front of a Zoom camera, and no paperwork or dealing with idiotic administrators. It would be a fine gig...

Meanwhile, Loni has to go back live today. I'm hoping things go well -- no one really knows how this damn virus will play out in the schools.

Apparently, the students had a choice of live instruction or keeping it Zoom. One boy asked if it was too late to change to actual attendance. Loni asked him why. He said at first his mother was afraid to let him attend, but now if he stayed home, she might kill him. We all understood.

Wifey and I reflected how awful it would be to have high school aged kids now. The Ds would NOT have been happy staying home. We're thankful we're past that stage.

Meanwhile, the week has been flying by. We'll head to D1 and Joey's tomorrow to play with our beautiful grandson, and allow Miriam to clean our house.

Jonathan is due back from a Mexican business trip. I guess the plan is to get tested after he's home several days, and hopefully tests negative, and then the band can be together again.