Carpe Diem in the 12th Grade

One day in my twelfth grade English class I decided to try something completely different.

The twelfth graders in our school have absolutely no interest in learning anything at all.  They concern themselves with typical teenage drama, and that’s about it.  Up until a few years ago, twelfth grade didn’t even exist – the school only went to tenth.  So basically, they try to fight the system by rejecting the twetfth grade altogether.

Needlesless to say, these students are particularly hard to reach.  But one day, instead of trying to teach them English (which many of them feel no need to learn because they will never use it), I decided to talk with them about fear.  

“Do you fear what other people think of you?” I asked them in Armenian, thinking they would probably just ignore the question and secretly text on their phones. 

Instead, I was answered by a chorus of “no’s,” followed by some passionate assertions like “I used to, but I don’t anymore,” etc, etc. 

At that point it became clear to me that the most important thing in the world to them was also the thing that they fought most to pretend that they didn’t care about: They would go to any length to prove that they didn’t care what other people think of them because they care so deeply about what other people think of them.

So I invited them, one by one, to come to the front of the class and do something absurd in front of everyone to prove that they didn’t care what others thought of them.

One kid had to close one eye and shout the word “tree” (in English – there had to be some English component), close one eye, and spin in a circle hopping on one leg.  Another had to tell us his deepest secret. Another had to close his eyes and tell us, without thinking, what he wanted most in the world.  And finally, someone just had to dance.  They all did it.

Then it was my turn (I couldn’t get out of doing something if I was about to preach about fearlessness), so I told them they could command me to do anything they’d like and I’d do it.

The class asked me to do an Armenian dance for them, so I did it.  They loved it – they laughed, clapped along with the moves, and one of the boys came up and started dancing with me. 

After that we had a real conversation about where fear comes from and why it is such a big part of our lives.

Their homework was to think of something that they had always been afraid of doing, and then do it.  They could write about it and tell no one, or they could tell the class when they come back. 

Some of them conquered their fears, and some did not.  But all of us learned something that day.  And for the first time, I felt a real connection with these students who put up all sorts of walls when it comes to learning and authority figures.  

Now, when we see each other in the halls, we say “Carpe Diem,” because I told them it means “Seize the day” and that every day we should remind each other to live without fear. 

 They liked that, and so do I.