A Bunch of Phoneys

I haven't had time to blog or even really to read this week! I have been writing and grading final exams, all of them very insightful and meaningful. As we speak, my Honors students are taking a final over the novel Lord of the Flies--it is a challenging test and I am somewhat sadistically satisfied as I watch them toil over their responses to this interesting and provocative novel. One thing about teaching smart kids is that occasionally smart kids know they are smart and they start to get really annoying. This is not always the case, but this year I have had a group of students that struggle with seeing the world beyond themselves. I makes me wonder what old Holden would say to them if he heard some of the egocentric statements that come out of their mouths. I think he would appropriately deem them "a bunch of phoneys"--I shouldn't be so harsh, a few years from now they will have experienced some failures and will be much more well-rounded and we would most likely be about to have a conversation without me having to run an internal dialogue.

Part of me wishes that someone would write me a note similar to Holden's note to Mr. Spencer. Here is what it would say:

Dear Mrs. Butler, That is all I know about Ralph and Piggy. I can't seem to get into the deserted-island thing, although your thoughts on the book are facinating and you are strikingly beautiful. It is ok if you give me a B, as I have A's in all my other classes. Sincerely yours, 9th Grade Honors English Student.

An honors student would never think it was ok to fail, so I had to change that part to make it more realistic.