
I think it starts in elementary school. Reading teachers teach sequencing, and a kid’s ability to recognize and label the parts of a story in order is – according to a leading panel of experts – a really important indicator of comprehension.
As important as grasping beginning, middle and end is, it’s not very easy to teach. Either kids get it or they don’t is what I find, but are we teachers happy with that? No. Because it’s “a really important indicator of comprehension,” we drill and drill and drill so that the average kid starts eating, drinking and sleeping beginning, middle and end and this in turn haunts him for the rest of his days.
That’s my theory, anyway.

“And what happened at the end?” you press on, and a chorus of voices shouts definitively, “It was a beautiful butterfly!”
Oh, how your heart soars – you are the world’s greatest reading teacher! Just look at this roomful of 6-year-olds so thoughtfully responding to a book!

The middle is where I reside now, and it’s a mixed-up big ole jumble of confusion in here.
It is vast and infinite and yawing like a ship on a turbulent sea.
It's not totally unpleasant, but sometimes it bugs me.

I realize that none of this adequately addresses the compulsion to segment with which I began tonight. Let’s just chalk that up to the wandering mind of the mid-lifer. (I am starting to understand why everyone I knew in the 1990's who was in their forties was on medication.)
I’m hopeful that by the next time I post on this blog, I’ll have figured out what it is I was trying to say.

P.S. I know, I know, what does this picture have to do with anything? But can you believe that Mary Ann from Gilligan's Island was recently busted for possession of pot? It doesn't warrant an entire blog post I don't think, but it was worth a mention.
(She's taller than I thought she'd be.)
3 comments:
Aren't we always living in the 'middle' of life? We know the beginning and we're fairly certain of the ending, so its the Middle that keeps us going. Every day we get to re-write the middle, if we choose to. Deep, thoughtful post. Nice. See you soon, I hope.
Guess what book our current president was reading to a class when he was informed of the 9/11 attacks?
Guess who finished reading the book to the class before he reacted or did anything?
Turns out, maybe he should have read some more Eric Carle because his response turned out to be 'let's go to war with Iraq'
Funny thing about Oreo Cookies... everyone loves the middle :) Wonderful post!
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