Letters from Garfield

The most poignant point for me during "Letters from Iwo Jima" was when one of the Japanese soldiers, who was familiar with English and with Americans because of his stint in the Olympics as a champion horse rider, reads a letter that he finds in the coat of a dead American soldier. He translates it for his buddies, one of whom is amazed at how similar it sounds to the kinds of things his own mother writes to him. His whole perception of Americans changes in that instant - he realizes that they're not so different after all from their American counterparts.

A few blogs ago, I wrote about how we're going to Outdoor Ed with two schools that are very different from us. We wrote letters to their students for Valentine's Day, and we eagerly awaited their responses. Finally, last Thursday, the letters arrived. I gave the kids a whole hour to peruse the letters, and the room filled with excited chatter.

Kids rushed up to me to tell me what they had noticed.

"Mr. Evans, this boy likes the same TV shows that I do!"

"Mr. Evans, this girl seems really nice!"

"Mr. Evans, this boy forgot to put the comma just like I do!"

And so, within an hour's time, their perceptions of these "other" kids had nearly completely transformed. You may recall that in our pre-Outdoor Ed discussions my students had made many assumptions about the kids they'd be sharing cabins with, that these other kids would be smarter, better behaved, etc. Generally superior in a variety of ways.

But these letters changed all that. As they noted all the spelling, punctuation, and grammatical mistakes with glee, my kids realized that, just like them, these kids were, well, kids. Kids who also liked sports, also had pets, also complained about too much homework. One kid was adopted. One kid had two moms. One kid knew four languages.

What had been a feeling of reserved and anxiety-ridden anticipation became a feeling of excitement.

Will these letters help make a difference? Will it make it easier for our three schools to become one for this week?

I'll let you know.

I'll be back on Friday, and I have no cell phone access until then (there's no coverage up there). So my usual immediate response to your phone calls (tongue firmly in cheek) will have to be delayed until Friday. Also, feel free to come to my place and steal all my stuff, especially my ratty sofa. I need to downsize for my August move anyway.