Gladly Would I Teach

All week I am monitoring student debates. Working in pairs, students select a controversial topic, research it, and then participate in a 30-minute debate. What do they debate?

• Capital punishment
• stem-cell research
• year-round schooling
• tracking in schools
• school uniforms
• legalization of marijuana
• surragacy
• the drinking age
• immunization
• gun control
• nuclear power
• child curfew laws
• electoral college
• outsourcing
• drilling in ANWR
• human cloning
• illegal immigration

I’m already worn out, and all I have to do is listen, monitor, take notes, and assign a grade. Exhausted, I finally figured out why these debates wear me down. For four and a half hours a day I’m following debates about serious topics, serious topics that rarely lend themselves to humor or levity.

I sit, ponder, worry, and gasp, shrinking under such weighty topics.

When third period rolled around yesterday afternoon, four of my brightest students thrilled me with a new topic: Should parents lie to their children about Santa Claus?

They included research about St. Nick and the purpose of the Santa stories and explored the problems with children believing in Santa. The debate was fascinating, and, afterward, Cori and Caitlin, the students who argued against Santa Claus informed the class that even though they had debated against Santa that they had every intention of one day sharing Santa Claus with their own children.

Most of all, we laughed, and I needed that laughter after so many serious topics.

I’m trying to remember today’s topics.

I’m hoping the Easter Bunny makes an appearance!