-^-for posterity-^-

we had a test in speaking class today. you are powerful when you give tests.

we had been talking about addictions. we covered addictions to food, work, smoking and drinking. it was an interesting topic that was able to spark a good deal of conversation. our test was a monologue. they could choose any two of the addictions that we covered and compare them. they were asked to decide whether one addiction was more dangerous than another.

everything went smoothly. all the students ambled to the front of the class, presented shyly and sat back down. there were giggles when someone stumbled over a word and murmurs when a speech was rather dull. i sat in the back of the classroom and graded. i sat handing out fate.

the students didn’t understand addictions to food. many compared being addicted to work and being addicted to food. they believed that being addicted to work was a valuable thing. it showed that you were diligent (not a word they used), motivated and a go-getter. they mentioned that, by being a workaholic, one was able to earn more for their family and increase their standard of living. they compared this to compulsive eating.

compulsive eating, they said, was something silly. they didn’t really know many people who sat around like couch potatoes all day. they have never opened a bag of ruffles or set foot into a mcdonalds. people could easily lose weight.

there is not one student in the class who does not have a pronounced set of cheekbones. they’re not starving or even hungry, they just don’t have the fast-food culture that we do. i explained to them that over 60% of americans are overweight. in one ear, out the other.

in another ten years, i’m sure they’ll have to deal with obesity. right now, it’s not their main concern to say the least.