Using The Simpsons to Enhance Literature at Every Grade Level in High School

Even though Homer, Marge and their three children have remained the same age as when the series began, "The Simpsons" just had its twentieth birthday. Its television debut happened on Dec 17, 1989, and no one dreamed then what a hit the show would remain for the next two and a half decades.

I began my high school teaching career just few years before Homer and his family appeared for the first time, but I refused to watch the show until it was halfway through its first season. The teenagers I had in class were buzzing about the show, so I assumed it was just a vulgar flash in the pan.

Don't Eat The Marshmallow!

I remember eating pizza one night as a kid while working at a gas station when an old grumpy mechanic who was passing through the showroom stopped in front of me and growled, "How many times do I have to tell you that if it taste good, then don't eat it because it's bad for you!"

Well, in some ways that old grumpy man who was really just trying to be funny had a point when it comes to food. However, I'm not going to ask you to never eat anything that taste good. But, I am going to ask you to not eat the marshmallow...

Innocent? Really?

So, the other day I was in an unavoidable situation where I was asked to look after a little girl for a few minutes (which ended up being half an hour) by her mother. She said she was going to be right back and asked me if I could have an eye on her little girl just in case. Then she told the girl to be nice and just took off. I guess she was about five or six years old, even though I never really asked given that I was trying to avoid any possible unnecessary conversation. You may think I'm anti-social but you see, I'm not that good when it comes to talking to kids. So if I'd have to choose between awkward silence or talking to a six-year-old about which Barbie is the coolest these days, I'd choose awkward silence.