“She craves youth because it defines who she is.” 

I read that somewhere a few months ago and remember thinking how sad that would be.  I work with youth every day.  What if our development stopped there?   

What ”she” craves is physical beauty/strength and the sense of endless possibilities.  I love the naiveté, the innocence, the blind courage of my students, but those same qualities add a sense of urgency to the lessons I teach.  I encourage them to trust in their “dreams and be the prisoner of nothing,” to embrace the unfamiliar and to expand the borders of their world.  I want them to take off on their own heroes’ journeys with a sense of wonder and a thirst for adventure, but I don’t want to be Jean Brodie, sending them out to encounter dangers for which they are not prepared.    So when I choose books for us to read and discuss, I search for stories that are inspiring, yet have a cautionary tone–stories about people who, as Nietzsche cautions, gazed into the abyss but averted their eyes before the abyss gazed back. 

Right now we’re reading This Boy’s Life, Tobias Wolff’s memoir.  I’ve taught this book for the last ten years and it’s rare I find a student who is not hooked by this true story of a boy trapped for years under the control of an abusive stepfather.  The students are united in their hatred of Dwight, but ultimately they come to understand what true power looks like, and how facing and owning up to your worst fears can set you free.  The kids see that Tobias was a victim in danger of morphing into the man he hated.  My students close the book a little less innocent, a little less naive without having to bear the scars.

I want to teach my students to enjoy the power of youth but to crave wisdom, because in truth, that is what defines us.