Choosing a Side

All three of my classes are working on persuasive essays. They are allowed to choose their own topics (although in my ENC1102 class, the topic must relate to human/civil rights). On Saturday in one class and today in two classes, I got students to brainstorm some controversial topics. (I should say that I've outlawed a few: legalization of marijuana, abortion, and capital punishment. It's not that I think these topics are unimportant; it's that in twenty-two years of college teaching, I've read more essays on these subjects than I ever wanted or needed to. The additional qualifier is that their proposal must be one that a reasonable person could argue against.) Usually, students' first response is, "What else is there?"

My students today came up with a few that I wasn't aware of (such as "safe places", as opposed to unlimited freedom of speech) and some that were just plain weird. One shouted out, "Nipple bearing!" by which I knew she meant breastfeeding in public; I'd just never heard it referred to that way. I was surprised that they seemed to have a good grasp of current controversial topics -- well, most of them did. Some were clueless.

As I ask them to choose a side on an issue, I'm struggling with a few issues related to them. Of course, I have the students who don't show up or, and this is harder to understand, who do show up but never turn in any work. I've learned to offer help and let it go. I don't take it personally. But I found out that one of my students is homeless, and in addition to completing her work, she must find a safe place to sleep every night. She is a very good student, even if she does pipe up in class possibly more than she needs to. I was surprised to discover her situation. I suppose I learned that I have a stereotypical idea of what a homeless person looks and acts like.

Another student in the same class, a young man who is usually peppy and full of smiles, came to class late and was obviously upset. I asked him if everything was okay, and I thought he was going to cry. He seemed to be struggling to hold it together, so I eased off the "mom persona". Neither of us needed to lose it in class, and he said he'd be fine, that he just had a lot going on right now. For most of my students, that wouldn't worry me. But I happen to know that this particular student is in remission; he had pancreatic cancer in high school and has been well only for a year or so.

In both of these situations, I wanted to help, but I also know that there's a fine line between offering help and prying. What can I do? Obviously, it would be inappropriate to take my homeless student into my home. And if my other student is no longer cancer-free, there's nothing I can do to make him better. I think these thoughts are a good illustration of why teaching is both good and bad for me. I tend always to want to fix things, to make people's situations better. Sometimes, it simply isn't my place. And that makes me a little bit sad.