I loved the Name Game today. We went around the classroom to answer this question:
“What have you been thinking about lately?”
I talked about watching the Parenthood television series and how these characters have captured my imagination. I think about them during the day. That’s what I’ve been thinking about.
Students shared the most revealing and wonderful things they’ve been considering lately ranging from how to fight racism to how to make a decision about what to do over the weekend. One student was thinking about her study abroad plans and securing a visa; another student mulled over how terrible her last paper turned out. Others were thinking things like missing their pets back home, how much they hate the rain, or how to get more sleep tonight.
Several students said they were thinking of naps. Naps. That’s it: naps. (I remember thinking the same thing as a college student).
One student said she’s been thinking all morning about why the men in her life don’t take better care of their mental health.
Asking someone what they’ve been thinking about opened up a whole world of knowledge of one another in our writing community.
I’m headed home to ask my teens and my husband what they’ve been thinking about today.