Candle in the Wind

I teach in a very high poverty area, and sometimes I forget that my students' living circumstances greatly affect their perspectives of the world. This week, one of our vocabulary words was "flickered" so I asked students a question to help them with their understanding of this word.

I said, "Have your parents ever had a candle burning in the house and someone opens a door, and you see the flame flicker from the wind?"

Mario yelled out, "Yeah! I seen that with my momma's cigarette lighter!"

We might need to review some history....

Eric: "Miss H., how old are you?"

Me: "23."

Eric: "So you were alive during the Civil War?"

Jingle Pills

A young man in my class came to my desk with a big smile on his face and said, "Miss H., have you heard this song from the commercial? I have it stuck in my head today." He began to sing, "Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday...."

I immediately recognized the song as a popular jingle for a birth control pill. I was flustered at being serenaded with this song by a ten year old boy, so I was unsure how to react.

He excitedly asked, "I love that song! Do you think I can take some of that medicine?"

Oh my, my, my.