Following a polite political messaging back-and-forth with a former student and the acknowledgement on my part that some things are open to interpretation, the following popped into my head. I don't remember the exact context, but as part of a poetry unit in a class somewhere along the line, I had brought a recording of and the lyrics to Bobby Goldsboro's 1968 song "Honey."
To more fully appreciate what follows, cut and paste the link and first listen to the song and pay attention to the lyrics (yes, they may move you, and you might want to have some Kleenex (or other brand of facial tissue handy), but they also have been described as 'syrupy' - try not to get sick).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZiEY3O-FWk
If you actually listened, everything is pretty straight-forward there, or at least so I thought.
One day, a student offered the theory that when she had the car accident, she had hit a biker, and when the angels came, it was the Hells Angels, who took her away never to be seen again.
After my initial incredulous response, I began to think about it, and I couldn't say the student was wrong! The neat thing about poetry is there are sometimes interpretations, but they usually exist within parameters. This student was right (to him), and, as I just said, I couldn't deny his possibility. Just wow!
Maybe I will remember other examples in time, but I do remember I love learning things from students.
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