Slice of Life Post for June 17, 2025, by Barb Edler

I got a call in May while driving home from shopping in Burlington which I let it go to voicemail as I figured it was a Robo call, but it wasn’t. It was Chris from SCC asking if I’d be willing to teach English Comp I this summer.

“You must be desperate if you’re calling me,” I responded. I haven’t taught at SCC since I don’t know when. The pay is lousy, and the attendance is often dismal.

“I’ve been looking for months,” Chris replied. After a brief conversation, I agreed to teach the course although it still wasn’t offering an equitable stipend. I guess some people will do anything for a buck.

My class consists of all females so that’s a first. Not having a male student does not bother me. As a mother of sons, I believe I managed to understand the young male personality well in my classroom. Of course, when you teach at community colleges, the ages can range. This summer is no exception, but the class is small, so the paperwork is manageable.

My big concern is the next unit which will focus on developing an opinion and weaving in evidence to support a particular claim. One of my students is someone I know pretty well as I had her mother as a student, and I worked with her on NHD projects five years ago. I also have a home school student who showed up once and has never returned. When I reached out to her via email, she said she forgot to tell me she’d be missing class but had planned to be back yesterday. She never showed.

On day one I asked them to share their writing which one of my students later told me was rather scary. Well, whether it’s scary or not, we will be sharing our words and providing each other with feedback.

I think each of these women will have a variety of opinions and I am quite certain they may be quite different from each other. I do not plan to groom anyone to believe as I do, but I feel that it will be difficult for me to navigate some issues. I am hoping students will write thoughtfully and honestly. I hope their differences can be appreciated and not denigrated. I have been privy to family meltdowns due to politics. Either way, I hope my students will be energized to write passionately. Please share any writing exercises or techniques you particularly enjoy with me. I am open to suggestions and would absolutely love to hear them.

Well, as I close this post, I must say I have enjoyed the success of the No King’s Day protests and witnessing the numerous photographs of people joining together to show their fight against fascism and Agent Orange, aka TACO.

Iowa has been suffering from some less than stellar leadership for some time. If you haven’t heard Joni Earnst’s apology for telling us Iowans that we are all going to die at a town hall meeting, please watch. It’s priceless.

I just had to write a poem in response. I hope you enjoy it.

Joni Hearse

Agent Orange leads a lunatic brigade 
armed with snarky replies 
they deliver at town hall meetings 
like Ernst’s “We are all going to die.”

We Iowans rely on Medicaid,
know the rising price of cancer,
vote for Trumpettes who happily
castrate squealing hogs.

Nothing matters here.
We’re all shameless suckers,
decency is for chumps—
go ahead and gut our benefits!

Cuz ya know,
we are all going to die. 
Most likely from abject misery, 
M.S. or suicide.