My intern Max
delivers a lesson
today to 9th graders
in a unit study of
Elie Wiesel’s Night.
Today, he’s asking
them to think,
write, and speak
about indifference.
My sixth period,
usually rambunctious,
squirrely, silly, noisy,
rises to the occasion
today with seriousness,
sincerity, and hope.
Max, my intern, asks,
What’s our obligation
toward the suffering
of other people?
One student says, we should
always stand up for
the weak. Another says,
we must respect differences
between people, no
matter where they are
in the world. Still another says
we should help people
out, provide for them
the things they need,
things they don’t have through
no fault of their own.
And one more voice says,
it’s not our job to help,
but because we can,
we should.
I am writing all of this
down and my heart sings.
michael jarmer 