the last lecture

I never got to finish Alboom's Tuesdays with Morrie. I don't know, there is something about dying in that read that didn't just feel right. I guess we all have some irk when we are confronted with death.

Oprah introduced this professor in her show. He talked about how he is surviving pancreatic cancer and how he is making preparations for his end. There is something about him that was inspiring. Never really felt sorry for the guy.

And now I am reading his book. I'm still in the first few parts of the book and something he had experienced when he was young made me think about my being a teacher.

"When you're screwing up and and nobody says anything to you anymore, that means they've given up on you."

That made me think about a student who just recently texted me. He was asking if I was still going to be teaching senior students. I said I only have one for this year. And I jokingly asked him if he also wanted this class to "suffer" the way they did when I handled them. He laughed and said that even if they had a hard time with me, he really had a memorable year.

I'm not so sure about my being with them is "memorable", but I must say I have been very hard with my students. I have always been. I think this is something that I can say to them. Its not really about making them miserable, I think its about making them feel that they have more to show, to give, to be...

I don't want to give up just yet... I don't want to come to that point that I will give up on someone, especially a student.

I can't wait to read more... the pages are calling me to read further.