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"The unexamined life is not worth living." SocratesSenior English |
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Seniors never visit their old teachers. It is the way
of things. It is a way of developing independence and it is normal. Another
way of establishing independence is rebellion. Seniors should probably
notice that they are rebelling against their school and their parents just
a little bit more than usual. Again, this is normal (though annoying).
Seniors are aware that they are leaving a place that has been a secure,
recognizable home. (Yes, I mean both their real homes and school, their
"home" away from home.) Because seniors know that they are going to leave,
to make it easier, they push their homes away first. Please remember that
the seniors are only barely conscious of this, if they are aware of it
at all. Since they are performing this pre-emptive strike against their
parents and school, seniors can be a bit difficult to live with. They are
ready to graduate by October and want nothing better than to pack up and
go away to college as soon as they can. Then, at graduation they cry, and
half of them come back to visit in June.
The lesson to be learned from all of this? Don't burn any bridges
as the year winds down. That goes for the students and the adults. All
of the things that happen are the result of normal separation anxieties
in preparation for saying good-bye and moving on. It would be a sin if
seniors were so obnoxious that they would be shame-faced to appear back
at their
alma mater. It would be a shame if the adults did not recognize
that we are all playing the same role that children and adults have been
playing for centuries. If you doubt me on this than you should have taken
my mythology class and studied the myth of Cronus and what happened with
his children.
E-mail Thomas Trevenen
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