Dharma, Heaven, and Cosmic Forces (or) Tuesday, 5th Period

12:50 p.m.

Rm 216

Truman Middle

D to T, "Nu-uh- ask Ms. Craven."

D to me, "Ms. Craven, aren't we animals?"

Me, "Humans?  Yes, we are."

D to T, "Told you.

1:04 p.m.

The students are kind of working, kind of flirting.  I am wandering around helping students make bar graphs to represent their sentence variety."  T and D are not working on the assignment.

"But where is heaven, Ms. Craven?"

They are still engaged in an electric debate.

T answers D that it's not actually on top of the clouds, "but the streets," he says- "are made out of silver."  And he lifts his eyebrows like a salesman and points at a piece of air between them.

"Well, heaven is not actually a geographical place," I am excited, but trying to dance honestly around logic and political-correctness and engaging a kid's imagination.  "And of course no one really can say just what it's like since we've never been there-"

"Well, Revelations says..." begins T.  He is repeating his quote from earlier.  When they were asking about the sun running out and they were discussing the end of the world.

"And not everybody believes there is just one heaven either."  I say.  "And some people believe you can achieve- basically- heaven on Earth..."

T says, "Heaven is where your soul travels to after you die.  To life after death."

Like a place on a map.

"But okay- " His energy is almost frantic.  D is on a question rampage.  "Ms. Craven.  What do they mean when they say, I mean, like, what is a soul?"  His eyes are big and eager and smile honestly curious.  It is hard sometimes to be a professional employee of the public schools.

"These are really good questions," I start.  (I am trying to be diplomatic.)  "I mean, everybody believes different things, but mostly when people talk about a soul they're talking about a spirit, something bigger and different and separate from you- the you that is a physical thing- an animal, a body... There is a lot more to you, right?- than just your arms and legs and everything- than just your body."  

He nodded in agreement.

"Your soul is what goes to heaven when you die," T reminds us assertively.

"Everyone believes different things," I say again.

"Yeah, but, what do you believe?" D is insistent.

"I can't talk to you about that.  I really can't, in this job.  But I think these are great questions."

"Oh man..."

2:10

"But Ms. Craven," D is looking at pictures of black holes on my computer.  "If there are other times- and other people in other times- like other worlds..."

Ultimately I recommended that he and T visit each other's churches, and that he see if his parents would rent him Back to the Future.

A day in the life.

(One of the better ones.)

((They basically keep getting better.))

(((That feels good.)))