Entering a community as an outsider on a charity mission perpetuates an attitude of inferiority and disempowerment, and, to my mind, does more harm than good. The least I can do for my parents, teachers, and mentors is to pass on my good fortune to others. People whine about the disappearing love of literature, but if students are bored and poetry can't be taught in a new, innovative way, then of course they won't pursue it. I tried in my own teaching to illustrate the diversity of work out there, from e.e. Soon, the class was enthusiastic and, when I asked them to write poetry, they gave me fresh, expressive verses filled with imaginative alliteration, imagery, and rhythms.
Some undergraduates are so enamored with education that they are considering it as a career.
History major Noah Dauber '98 has enrolled in the Undergraduate Teaching and Education Program, a full-year course in which Harvard students earn teaching accreditation. It seemed the right time to do something both practical and rewarding. Dauber took a required course in adolescent psychology at the Graduate School of Education and observed high-school classes in action. Yet in the end, the experience was much more thoughtful and interesting than I ever expected. It was so much more compelling than Harvard.