A PLACE FOR CUPS

As I was having a mid-morning snack today, I set my coffee cup down on a small, serviceable table beside me, and it started me thinking about how important it is to apprise my students of the countless useful "tables" they have access to in their English studies -- inconspicuous but useful surfaces upon which to set ideas and feelings as they study serious literature and write their stately essays. In fact, my English class itself -- every second of it -- should be an assembly of such surfaces. The students should feel surrounded by endless roominess, more than ample space to set down all their ideas, from the simplest and smallest to the fiercest and most massive. As we're enjoying our cups of thoughts during class, we should know, as easily as we know the thoughts themselves, that tables upon which to set them are everywhere in Room 2.