Modern Pholly in a Last Chance Class (republish to groups)

They don't want to discuss the simple quotation that begins the morning.  Emerson:  "We are as responsible for what we do as we are for what we don't do."   The idea of Emerson seems to annoy them.  They'd rather be anywhere but where they are, and a dead man's philosophy doesn't appear to sooth their collective contempt.  They are suspicious of anything that suggests old-school virtue or begs a moral conceit.  I cannot force them to think, I can only invite them to consider the validity of other people's ideas. 

"It doesn't make any sense", says one.  "Was Emerson gay?" snarls another.  "Where do you find this crap?" asks the last one.  When I answer that I find it in books, half of the class groans, and the rest make rude sounds.  I don't tell them much about Emerson or other transcendentalists.  My students were lost  before they got off the bus. 

They went missing years before their names appeared on my court-ordered roster.  Their philosophy comes from the streets into which they've disappeared.  They believe in the power of celebrity – athletes, rappers, and comics.  They've been seduced by the symbols of contemporary success:  Benzes, bitches, and bling.  How dare I presume they'd consider Emerson a fair trade for Juvenile, or the NBA?  (Isn't it ironic that a current rap superstar has copped the name of a star player from antiquity)?

Emerson might appeal to those who understand the menace of false alliances, but to those who aren't able to distinguish selfishness from self-reliance, Emerson remains elusive.  I want so much to find a meaningful way to shift their awareness, to make them conscious of the choices that remain in front of them.  They don't have to choose Emerson, but in not choosing him today, they'll continue to be victimized by the false glamour of the Street. 

Meanwhile, I dodge their scorn with a new "Phat Fact" that is part of our daily warm-up.  In the Italian language, the name Pinocchio means pine-head.  Immediately they seize this knowledge and use it to label one of their big-headed classmates. This information is something they seem willing to wrap their brains around.