Today I read 4th graders the story of Rigoberta Menchú Tum. If you don’t know who she is, she is a Guatemalan woman, born in 1959, who fought for the indigenous people during their civil war. Her life was full of loss and hardship. She started working, (coffee beans) at the age of 8 with her parents. Her brother died of malnutrition. Her father died in an embassy that was bombed, and her mother was kidnapped and killed.
Heavy stuff for 4th graders. After we discussed her story, I told the kids, “It’s hard for us to imagine this. We have certain laws to protect us. Child labor laws. Minimum wage. Etc. We know if we go to work for a certain amount, that’s how much we’re going to be paid.”
Now that these kids heads are clicking along, comes the final writing. I said, “Imagine you’re babysitting. You make a certain amount. It seems fair for the work it takes to babysit. Then, you find out a friend of yours is also babysitting, but they make $2.00 an hour more than you. Who do you feel? What are you going to do about this?”
Blank stares. “What if we don’t care?”
This was a tough one. Usually our writing is fun, no limit, fantasy. What if you don’t care? Why don’t you care? Should a wage gap bother you? If it does, why is it so hard to approach your employer about a raise? Are you mad at the friend, or the employer? Why?
Man oh man. I was curious about what these kids were going to say. I always anticipate they’re writings. Kids, a lot of times, write what they think is the “right answer”. So I assumed that I would get a lot of “I would tell the people I was babysitting for I am raising my price.” Or “I wouldn’t say anything because what I made was fine.” Or “I would find a different job.” Kids tend to be predictable…..or so I thought.
I had a few students share. (I am paraphrasing here) “I just found out my friend makes more than me. I am going to sabotage her. I will go over while she’s babysitting and clog the toilet. Then, I will give the kids a bunch of sugar so they’re hyper. Then, I will trash the house.” Well. That’s not what I was expecting to hear. “I just found out my friend makes more than me. And it’s not fair. I am way better than he is at babysitting. So I will destroy his job. First, I will find a ninja suit to wear….”
I just laughed as these kids giggled through reading their stories. It was obvious by how their stories played out, they didn’t really feel this was the best course of action, but they decided to go with it.
“Yes, and…” I try to keep this mindset while teaching. So how the frick do I support these writings while at the same time reaffirm the class that we do not condone sabotage? I mean, these thoughts are honest. Who doesn’t immediately think of the extreme when they feel wronged? Even Rigoberta felt like burning down the plantation when her parents were wronged. But she didn’t.
Ah. There it is. She didn’t. I have had visions of flipping tables at jobs I didn’t like. But I never have. I have had clients that were so incredibly rude and difficult, I imagine grabbing their hair and cutting a chunk right out of it. But I have never done that. Impulse control. Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should.
So here are these 4th graders. A little bummed out to find out their writing doesn’t get to be about mythical creatures, or superheroes, or any of that fun stuff. Yet, they found a way.
This has made me happy all day. We lose so much as we grow when it comes to creativity and imagination. Or, we find an “all or nothing” approach to fantasy. There doesn’t have to be goblins or dragons to make our stories exciting. Our own minds can come up with these outrageous responses naturally. We, of course, dismiss them as actual possible actions, but they’re there.
What makes a story? Conflict and resolution. But what makes a story great? Plot twists. Unpredictable characters. These kids get it. They spiced up a potentially boring writing by simply choosing to imagine themselves without the trained impulse control. And it was splendid.
thatbethy 