I’m re-re-reading The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. So much wisdom and foresight and humanity, it should be required reading if anything ever should be. And I come across this passage which seems so pertinent in today’s world: “His speeches were long and loud. Praises of Karhide, disparagements of Orgoreyn, vilifications
She just does it so beautifully that it doesn’t feel like circling. It feels like she’s having a genuine conversation with her students.
J’aime les voir dans les cafés et restaurants d’Agen, parlant en anglais et français et parfois en espagnol ou en allemand, si ce n’est pas le bretonne ou le mandarin. Il est merveilleux de voir ces gens passionnés, venant des quatre coins du monde, échangeant leurs idées, leurs expériences, leurs espoirs pour leurs élèves.
Every summer for the last ten years something magic has happened in Agen, France. Teachers from around the world have gathered in a friendly little town in southwest France and particpated in what many of them have called a life-changing experience. They come together because they have heard of a different way of teaching languages, a way of creating stories with their students and building a different kind of classroom. They come with open hearts and open minds and they leave with smiles and warm memories and many new friends. That is the magic of Agen.