Working In The "real World"

By Author: Adela
Total Articles: 74
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You think I don't work in the "real world"? Why? Because I can't go to the bathroom any time I want? Because I can't "take off early" for a dentist appointment? I don't want your "real world" if it means I don't have the privilege of hanging out with 13-year-olds every day. Is it the "real world" when Omega Seamaster Replica Mara tells me, "I won't be here Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday"? "Why not?" I ask. "You know I don't like it when you're absent." "We have to stay in a motel. My stepdad won't leave the apartment." Maybe you don't think it's the "real world" when Nick meticulously handwrites his 30-game baseball schedule for me but only lists the days of the week, no dates.

My world includes Fatima, whose family escaped the Serbs, bringing heads to our class so we can learn how to fold and drape them over our heads without any hair showing.

Geraldo's in my world, too. Since his parents split up and he moved to the apartments across the street, he stays after school every day to "catch up on work." We talk about families and how "fluffy" ...
... his little brother Luis is. They'll celebrate their birthdays together; he described Luis's all-white birthday outfit, including the tiny white boots.

I see Mike every day, too. He just started handing in his work, but it's our secret. "Mike," I whisper, "does it feel good to get caught up?"

"Not really," he replies. He sees my puzzled face and adds, "But it feels good that my mom's not disappointed in me."

I love my world, whether you think it's "real" or not. I have the honor of reading, writing, speaking, and listening with the best parts of any world, every day.

Academics are forever being accused of not living in the real world, but it is in our classrooms that students explore issues that are integral to our nation's democratic existence. For example, each semester my students do an essay project on political language and its use of metaphors, parallel structure, and euphemism to mislead citizens. Such an assignment is critical for students who are barraged with political subterfuge and need to learn the artifice behind it.

We begin by reviewing euphemism, hyperbole, and obfuscation in famous political movements. What is more authentically real world than looking at the phrase advanced interrogation techniques and unraveling the illegal torture that hides behind the innocuous-sounding phrase? What about the strategies behind death tax, Patriot Act, or friendly fire? Indeed, what separates Omega Replica Watches liberating from invading, and why do the politics of family values seem to conflict with family planning?

Much of the same can be accomplished in looking at metaphors concerning heaven and hell and the impact they have on Americans and their vision of themselves. We examine speeches from various eras—beginning with Thomas Paine—and notice the common references to a celestial power as the justification behind various American acts from invading the Philippines to the ignominious Trail of Tears.

In the real world, students learn about the language of their leaders and ways to understand its underlying meaning. In the process they learn that a true democracy is the child of participatory education.