Today I assigned a homework assignment to my sophomores. The objective...find a song that in some way deals with love or loss (our theme for the quarter). Now please understand that we had a pretty lengthy discussion last week about what love and loss are, and I think they really understood me when I said that it is not just falling in love with someone or losing someone through death. Our discussion got them thinking beyond just those two typical thoughts that have to do with love and loss and on to so many others...love of power, loss of mind (I added that one to the list telling them that's what they drive me to), love of food, loss of appetite. It was the kind of discussion that makes any teacher's day.
So then came the assignment. Find a song and try to think outside the box. I don't want 50 Taylor Swift songs! They were told this straight out. I even tried to pose as the cool English teacher to give them an outside the box example. "A example that would be great, minus the explicit lyrics, would be Eminem's I need a Doctor." Giggles ensued around the room. Apparently, they didn't think that their "old" English teacher listens to Eminem. But this assignment got me thinking about the power of songs. And one that has really touched me lately, in light of where my life is right now, is Randy Houser's In God's Time. Here is a link and I encourage you to listen to the song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skZKXd6G9lI Really hear the words. It is pretty powerful.
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