Pencil Case

Pencil cases are huge amongst Korean elementary school students. They're so ubiquitous in the "cho dung hakio" that my book instructed me to teach "pencil case" as a vocab word in week one. I later discovered that most students learn of the pencil case as early as third grade. Regardless, they're everywhere and I've seen them in all shapes, sizes, and colors.

I've also noticed a curious trend in the pecil case pool of my students. Many of these kids have them emblazoned with english sayings that I simply can't believe they understand. It's not that they wouldn't understand the words alone, but rather that they wouldn't get the gravity. I really thought I had seen it all. Or should I say, I thought that nothing would make me elicit much more than a chuckle. Then today I saw something that genuinely made me think.

"It is impossible to love and be wise," read one 6th grade girl's pencil case. This captivated me for the better part of the afternoon. Moreover, that she had no idea her case was so reflective really heightened my ruminations. Immediately I thought of my favorite moment from Scorsese's epic Bob Dylan documentary "No Direction Home." In it, Joan Baez recalls a time in London where Dylan refused to bring her on stage to duet, as she had - giving him crucial exposure - earlier in his career. The camera cuts to a curmudgeonly Dylan who, asked about the situation, says, "Well, I suppose you can't be wise and in love, and I hope she sees the light on that some day."

Clearly you can be wise and in love. People do rational things everyday whilst in the throws of love. The point is, this job has set me up so that I have absolutely no idea what I will see on a given day. Who would have thought that a student's pencil case would drum up thoughts of classic Dylan and the mechanics of love?