in one of the boxes i found this, my nerd manifesto for years i kept it stapled to the inside door of my classroom, so that kids coming and going saw it every day. i may not have been cool and popular as a kid, but i was cool and popular as a teacher, so it was important for me to be able to say that to all the kids, and not just the nerdy ones.
the text reads:
my nerd manifesto
If you know me, you might have noticed that i'm kind of geeky. that's not really true; in fact i'm completely geeky. i'm a nerd. but it's OK. it's all good because now i'm a grownup and i survived being beaten up in middle school and i survived being the last one picked. high school wasn't any picnic either but i made it through and now it's ALL good. i'm still a nerd but all my friends are either nerds or they don't care.
anyway, what i'm getting at is that if you're a nerd, you are welcome here. if you are weird and feel out of place you are safe here. if you're that kid who reads the encyclopedia or the kid who knows the score of every hockey game UVM ever played, or the kid who knows a thousand things to do with paperclips, this place is a safe haven.
if you're not a geek, you are still welcome here. that's the thing; EVERYONE is welcome. you are each rare and exquisite treasures. nothing intended to harm or humiliate another person is acceptable here. every one of you deserves respect and in here we'll do our best to make sure you get it.
whether you're cool or not,you are all cool to me.all of you are welcome here.
2 comments:
What's REALLY cool is that those kids who walked by and surreptitiously read that manifesto could see from your living example that you can be bullied, and feel like a nerd, and feel like an outcast, but if you persevere, you can grow up into an amazing and awesome successful adult!
what's really cool, cookie, is that when i first posted it, a number of the "cool" kids went over and read it right out in the open, thereby giving everybody else permission to read it.
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