Free Association Writing [My Review

¶ … Free Association Writing

[My review is bold faced; what I wrote in free association is in italics and quotes.]

I do not detect any resistance of issues in my free association. I directly approached several issues that affect me right now, including winter in Philadelphia, my college work as an education major, my interest in sports teams and my satisfaction that Michael Vick, backup quarterback to Donovan McNabb, did really well in Atlanta this past weekend. I complained a little bit about winter in Philadelphia, but not much.

"Here comes winter again to Philadelphia, and here are those bitter cold winds howling through the streets and banging tree limbs against houses. I always think I have clothes warm enough but those winds seem to cut right through my warmest jacket like a knife. Am I going to stay positive this winter, positive about my schoolwork, positive about my future, and not let the long dark winter nights get me down? Last year they did get me down a little bit. I got my car stuck in a snowbank and cursed loud enough to wake the dead. Good thing there weren't any cemeteries around there."

"What's good about winter? Winter brings with it football -- for me the Philadelphia Eagles, the Philadelphia Flyers, the Philadelphia 76 ers -- and I can forget for a few months about the beating that the Phillies took from those high rolling New York Yankees."

I related my own life to sports in Philadelphia. Of course some could criticize me for that but I relate to sports and that's good enough for me. Instead of thinking of my own career and my own problems sometimes I think about sports. "Sports are not a fantasy, they are real events with real athletes; and for a lot of guys I know sports are an education about life. Just when you think you have it made, you lose on a last second touchdown and you're out of the playoffs. Same in life. You think you've got it made? Maybe you don't at all in the end."

"The good news about the Eagles is they had the guts to take a chance on Michael Vick. People got down on him right away but hey, the guy served his time in prison and said he was truly sorry for being involved with that dog-fighting ring. So he came to Philadelphia and a lot of people, including my friends, were down at the mouth about Vick. I wondered how he would do with all the pressure on him to show his sincere self, and so far he has been living up to his promises."

Just like the Eagles took a chance on Vick, I know there will be students in my classes who hope that teachers will give them a chance even though they may have gotten in some trouble in the past. "In Atlanta last Sunday, Vick had the most pressure on him that he has had since coming back to the NFL. He played several years for the Falcons and was an icon there. They loved him, his running and his passing with that not-very-accurate left hand of his. He made a lot of money and then suddenly was disgraced because he had been involved in dog fighting. People were outraged. He was fired from the Falcons. So what does he do in Atlanta with all that pressure on him, going back as an Eagle? He passed for one touchdown and ran for another. He heard boos in the stadium but he also heard his name chanted in a positive way."

And as I look at my own career, a 24-year-old middle class college student in Philadelphia what will I do to make my mark? I really want to be part of the solutions in education. I know the teaching profession doesn't pay much, and there are a lot of serious problems in schools today, but I'm up for the challenge. They say if you can make a big difference in the lives of three or four students in each class, you can consider that you have done your job.

"I'll try to make a difference in the lives of every student in every class. What's wrong with trying to go for it all? The Phillies tried to go for it all and win a World Series, but they got stopped just short of their goal. Still, how many other teams didn't even get that far? In the National League there are 16 teams, so the Phillies beat out 15 teams to get to the world series. If I can change the lives of even 2 or 3 students in each of my 4 or 5 classes each year, that will be maybe 15 kids who are headed in a better direction than they were."

Gangs are all over the place in Philadelphia. Many of the students in public schools in Philadelphia are either in gangs or they are wannabe's -- but from what I know just because a kid is in a gang doesn't mean he's a criminal or a drug dealer. Some gangs are just taking care of their own territory, and yes they will fight and sometimes use weapons but that doesn't mean we should dump the kids into the trash heap or throw them all in prison. So I wrote: "In my classroom I will insist on structure, but I'll be fair and I will try to make my classes very interesting for sure. When I was in high school I remember classes that were so boring taught by teachers who should have retired but they were hanging on to get a better pension or for some other reason."

"That won't happen in my teaching career. No way. My objective is to not be a tough guy or a hard-nosed disciplinarian, but to be an interesting, informed, and well-liked teacher who truly relates to kids. When they walk into my room I want them to check the bulletin board for new extra credit assignments that might be posted there. I want them to be so self-sufficient that they can see the extra credit assignment and figure it out themselves without having to come up and ask me how to do it."