LOST AND FOUND

Sometimes my students come to class looking like lost souls – like sheep searching for a little safekeeping and reassurance – and it’s my hope that they can occasionally “find themselves” in English class. It’s not a pipe-dream, actually, since I’ve seen it happen, at least to a degree, day in and day out over my many years in the classroom. A student comes to class wondering where in the world he is in this universe, and, in a few minutes, finds a strange sort of answer by simply stating the central meaning of a short story the class had been brooding over for days.  Suddenly there’s a look in his eyes that says he’s found exactly where he’s from and where he’s going. It sometimes happens instantaneously, as suddenly as a storm can stop and the sun start shining once again. A girl can give you the feeling she’s gone over the edge into a personal wasteland, and within seconds, after reading to the class a striking sentence she had written, she is smiling like someone who has stumbled upon who she really is.  Perhaps, under Mr. Salsich’s English Class, this sign would be suitable on my door: Lost and Found.