Moral Homework

Every so often, I assign moral homework--an assignment that you don't have to do, but that I think might be cool if you did. Assignments have ranged from "do something nice for someone unexpected" to " really stop and look at nature from a different perspective" to the all-time award winner of "crawl around on the floor to get a really different perspective." One time I asked students to Name Your House. Some of you did it, with hilarious results.

Today, my AP Lit classes read a most truly moving piece of literature-- "Meditation 17" by the amazing John Donne. Reactions were mixed throughout the day, from the sleepy to the irascible, but some students seemed to get into it and in at least two of the classes I suggested re-forming contact with a friend or family member from whom you've drifted. (Not someone you've gotten into major conflict with; this isn't Dr. Phil.) I know on Facebook you can "poke" people or request to friend or be friended; I think face-to-face or a phone call might be more ideal for this sort of thing. This afternoon, I thought more about it, and I think I'm going to extend the Moral Homework suggestion to everyone.

We're in spring now, and some of you are starting to get twitchier than usual. Friendships are falling apart. Grades are slipping. And I think you'd be shocked if you knew how many of the kids sitting right next to you with smiles plastered on their faces are really, really lonely right now.

So maybe "reach out and touch someone" isn't the greatest assignment, but I was just thinking that if we could all reach a little beyond ourselves, would that be an entirely bad thing?

Read these words from Donne, arguably one of the greatest minds of his century:

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.

No man is an island, entire of itself. Remember the movie Castaway? I don't remember the name of the character, but "Tom Hanks" was so crushingly lonely and hungry for companionship that he made a little friend out of a volleyball. Even though we all crave solitude--some more than others--we all need human contact. Think about it. There might be someone sitting across from you, two periods a day, who could really add to your life in friendship. Maybe you've lost touch with a friend from last year due to different schedules, other voices, other rooms, but maybe now would be a good time to say, How are you?

Sorry if you think this is treacly or overly sentimental. I just think that the interconnectedness between people is one of the driving mechanisms of this life, and that you owe it to yourself to try to cultivate good, positive relationships wherever you can. So think about today's moral homework, and see if it's worth doing. John Donne would tell you to!

Much love,

Ms. H.