dual personalities

*A guest post from DN

I was sifting through old papers recently and rediscovered a copy of the poem that I had once found in a classroom where I was teaching. Someone in a course prior to mine had left a copy of “A Question of Time” by Alicia Ostriker. The students were doing a group work exercise; I had moment to read the poem while I stood at the front of the room poised to field any questions. But suddenly every question that I had was about this poem. And as I reread it today, a poem about motherhood has even greater resonance.

I felt incredibly moved, and I couldn’t really say why. I couldn’t quite pin down the poem’s plot or situation. The language was plain, yet the jumble of speaker and subject—and the shades of grey in the different kinds of love represented—felt incredibly complex. And I didn’t have time to figure it out! Time was up. Time to lead a mind-blowing discussion about how classical rhetorical appeals can really give verve to one’s writing. To 18 year olds. Who only need this class to place into Introduction to Fluid Mechanics or whatever.

As school districts face the question of whether or not to hold in-person classes, I can’t help but lament the loss of chanciness in the classroom. You never know what will happen during an in-person discussion; you have to be open to it all. Of course we should keep our students and teachers (and their families) safe. But we should not overlook the importance of the classroom space. You never know what you’ll find.