Alligator Tree Press

When I began teaching, I believed every child's goal should be—to earn a college degree. "Do you want to flip burgers the rest of your life?" I'd ask my students when I thought they weren't working to their full potential. "Do you want a low-paying menial job?" My heart was in the right place. I wanted them all to be able to make a good living, to become productive members of society, and to be happy. It was unfathomable that they could accomplish those things without a college degree, so the Curse-of-a-Lifetime-of-Burger-Flipping was held over their heads for an entire school year.

Now that I'm older and hopefully wiser, I've come to realize that we need people who want to flip burgers. But more than that, we need people who find fulfillment in making a great burger. After all, when we're in the mood for a hamburger, do we ask our friends, where can I get a lousy tasting burger? Of course not. We ask, "Where can I get a good hamburger?"

Who would you rather be talking to? Bernice, the fry cook at Dairy Treat or Bill Gates? If it's three o'clock in the afternoon, and you haven't eaten since 6:00 AM, you might rather be ordering a burger from Bernice at the Dairy Treat counter than standing in a posh board room shaking hands with ol' Bill .

As Einstein once said, "It's all relative, isn't it?" Well, he said something like that. The point is, when I need a doctor, I need a good doctor. When I need someone to mow my lawn, I don't need a doctor. I need someone who takes pride in mowing my lawn—who is fulfilled by mowing my lawn. Because when someone has a fulfilling job, they perform it better. I don't want to hire a lawn man who doesn't like his job, anymore than I want a doctor who doesn't like her job.

Every child should have the opportunity to make a good living. Every child should have the opportunity to become productive members of society. Every child should have the opportunity to live up to his or her potential. Every child should be able to find fulfillment in school and in life.

If you're ready to lift the Curse-of-a-Lifetime-of-Burger-Flipping from your children, start with SUBJECT SPARKLER SPIN-OFFS: Ideas for Educators.

Ideas for Educators

Your students, those eager learners leaning forward with bated breath awaiting the next pearl of wisdom to fall from your lips... and those staring out the window awaiting the dismissal bell, will become (believe it or not) the workers of tomorrow.

Please consider the following activities as sparks for your own imagination for extending your lessons while meeting the individual talents, ability levels, and interests of your students.

Let Them Eat Cake

Future Historian
Write a paper explaining the similarities between the political conditions which led to the French Revolution and the conditions in Colonial America which led to the American Revolution.

Future Dancer
Perform a dance which was popular in France during the late 1700's.

Future Librarian
Compile a bibliography of materials about the French Revolution available in our school library and online.

Future Administrative Assistant
Assist the Historian and Librarian by typing, copying, and collating their work for the entire class.

Future Politician
Choose a stance either with or against the aristrocracy of 1700's France. Write and present a speech defending your position.

Future Linguist
Create a French-English dictionary of common use phrases you would use in the markets of modern day Paris.

Future Hairstylist
Prepare a display of wigs which were in fashion during the French Revolution.

Future Immunologist
Write a report on the diseases troubling the French in the 18th and 19th Centuries.

Future Chef
Bake and decorate a sheet cake large enough to serve to the entire class.

Future Mathematician
Using the chef's recipe, refigure the recipe for serving 4, 48, and 100 people. Display the new figures on a spreadsheet.