Holy American burnout! - essays

Sean Enfield
Wed, 29 Apr 2026 13:46:07 PDT

Neither students nor educators are ever just the body which occupies a classroom. Both bring their personal histories as well as the socio-cultural and political climates in which they live. The essays in this collection explore the author's development as both a student and as an educator, revolving often around themes of race and religion. At the core of this narratively linked collection of essays is the author's first-year teaching experience in which he worked as an 8th grade literature teacher at a private, quasi-religious school. Cultural and music criticism provide the bridge by which these personal essays broaden their scope into their larger socio-political landscape. It evokes sources as disparate as the disgraced Disney film, Song of the South; Igor Stravinsky's ballet, The Rite of Spring; and the Pulitzer-winning hip hop artist, Kendrick Lamar. These sources serve as the prism with which the author navigates his personal experiences with racism and teaching Muslim students during the mounting of the 45th presidents anti-Islamic, anti-immigrant campaign. All in all, these essays seek to illuminate the many ways learn, develop, and relate to each other in America, looking for new ways to navigate this broken system which so often dead ends in burnout.