Dreams II

"Teaching literature demands that dry text be watered and brought to bloom; both students and book lovers will enjoy stopping to smell these flowers."

Booklist Magazine, November 2003.

I had a dream about teaching again. This wasn't a nightmare or a strange conglomeration of things on my mind. Instead, I dreamt about my first two days of school with my 10th grade class. I don't remember a lot of it, but I do remember we made a unique seating arrangement (a little like pods, only with more than four desks together) and while I was taking attendance, I asked if any of the students in the class were interested in art. A small male student said he did, so I had him sketch up the seating arrangement and I told the students that they could sit where they wanted, but if there were problems, I would have to change the seating assignments. They were so excited at this prospect! And the boy didn't turn in anything that was terribly accurate--instead, it had pine trees along the edges and blocked off strange squares around the room. Nonetheless, it worked, and I told the students to tell me stories while I made my own version of the room's layout.