I taught middle school for a few years before teaching elementary school. And year in and year out without fail an 8th grader would come up to my room during lunch time and wander around pacing back and forth. After a a few minutes this can get at your nerves but the student feels more comfortable and breaks the barrier.
These kind of students don't say much they just kind of stand there. After another five minutes comes the big question,
"Teacher, why are we living?"
Huh, that came out of nowhere. And before I get a chance to answer the kid already has a story of his own to tell. He's like, "You know there is nothing good enough to live for. Life sucks. There is nothing I can do right."
At this point he is fishing for attention. Yes, kids do make fun of him and he is a kind of reject student but no I don't think he is suicidal at least not at the moment. It was the part, "There is nothing I can do right" that got me thinking. I said, "You know there is one thing that is worth living for." Even if you do suck at everything else there is one thing that you can do very well."
Now you get where I am coming from. He looked at me real innocent like, "what is it teacher? Do you have the meaning of life?" As I could tell he was expecting a great philosophical answer I honestly gave him the best answer I could afford and I think it is still true. I brought him out toward the window in the hall where the breeze was flowing in fresh air. We had just finished lunch and some how, well you know school lunches. We had something in common. I had come from America and was getting close to middle age. he was a teenager born in Korea. What could I say?
I told him, "Well. You ever have a good shit? That's worth living for. Imagine if you weren't able to do that. Stuck in eternity with no way to defecate." He laughed and went to his next class. He survived middle school and I was really glad to see him alive when he graduated.
