To Be

Today in class we were talking about the present tense. I was having a hard time because it seems the previous teachers neglected to actually teach them this concept and thus, they had no idea what I was talking about. It was more upsetting because these kids are in middle school and have studied English since they were in 3rd grade.

I tried to get them to form a sentence with Be. Very simple, "I am happy, I am sad, I am a student" type sentences. I think it was more difficult for them because in the Korean language you don't use grammar that way. It's a Subject Object Verb set up; this is in conflict with the Subject Verb Object of English. So saying "I am happy," is "I happy am," in Korean. Yoda talk if you may. This concept on present tense was very hard for this particular class to comprehend and I wasn't sure if it was a culture thing (seeing I had been teaching a lot of grammar this past week, where I don't think you get as much out of it when it's taught in a different language, because concepts are lost in translation) or this class was particularly slow.

I want to go with the later of my two options seeing that I have students also in middle school picking up present tense very quickly. And so as a teacher I feel sort of like I'm failing them, even though technically it's the Korean teacher failing to explain English concepts to them, so that when they have class with me they remember the lesson from the Korean teacher.

It's also very interesting how we attach very significant meaning to such a small set of words. I am, you are, he she it is, we are, you are (pl) they are. So many different combinations can come out of these words it's endless. We can say how we are feeling, how old we are, if we've found that special someone. Present tense is really amazing in its simplicity, and how we can take a complex idea and whittle it down to the most simple sentence.

Also interesting is how we put ourselves in boxes and define ourselves with such simplicity. "I am a doctor, I am a student," We (especially those in our twenties and especially Americans) love to label ourselves. It's as if having something interesting on the end of "I am" will show how well you're doing for yourself. That you're going places and living the "American Dream." Yes, if you can't contract what you're doing into condensed phrases people will get bored and not listen to you. But, on the other hand I feel that if you're really doing something worthwhile, and you really feel it defines the "I am" question one shouldn't be able to sum it up in one sentence.

We're so lucky in the English language to have hundreds of thousands of words to use. They describe how we feel, what we're doing and why we think a certain way, native speakers most certainly take this vocabulary for granted. Most people who have English as a second language say that they have so much more freedom to express how they feel because of all the words they can use.

To be, or not to be--that is the question:

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles

And by opposing end them.

Hamlet. Act III, scene i

If you don't know, I absolutely love Renaissance theater. And so it's only fitting to end with an excerpt from the famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy. If you want to read the entire monologue go for it. It's a beautiful soliloquy and an amazing show of how exquisite the English language can be. Starting at "To be."