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Read about the experiences of teaching in a public high school in Chicago. You may be surprised at what you find! There is a mix of poetry, essays, and personal journal entries, as well as lots of humor, heartache, and questions.

Excerpt from first page:

Beginnings – August/September 2007

Climb Mount Fuji,
O, snail
but slowly, slowly.
- Kobayashi Issa

The haiku poet Issa wrote this poem from the perspective of an observer who sees a snail climbing the mighty Mount Fuji. The observer and thus the reader are both aware of the magnitude of the snail's objective; however, the snail remains blissfully unaware of the task ahead of it and continues its snail-pace up the incline. No matter how slowly the snail moves, it is still maintaining forward motion without considering the option of quitting. Notice that Issa uses “Climb” instead of “Summit.” If the snail stepped back and focused only on the goal of reaching the summit, it might quit before it even began its journey for reaching the top of such a great mountain is a daunting task for the tiny snail.

As with a snail climbing a mountain, so it is with teaching, learning, and writing. Chaos, apathy, inertia, and other forces interact to create blocks against our efforts to make a greater contribution for the good. All three of these things are monumental tasks, and if you focus only on the goal, you miss out on the process in between. It is better to take one day at a time, enjoy the process, and let the creation of something good absorb you.

Originally, I envisioned this zine as being entitled Climbing Fujiyama in honor of the snail in the poem, but I decided lion in a teacup fit teaching and the act of creation better.