Teachers, if you’re looking for a way to get your students to understand the concept of irony . . .

by David Safier

I wish I had this very short story in hand when I was trying to explain the concept of irony to my high school English students. It's a slam dunk. Here's how it goes.

The director (Sean Arce) of a nationally acclaimed educational program (Mexican American Studies) is given an award by the  Zinn Education Project for his role in developing “one of the most significant and successful public school initiatives on the teaching of history in the U.S.”

Meanwhile, a member of the School Board (Michael Hicks) in the district where Arce is an administrator, makes a horse's ass of himself reveals to the nation what an ignorant horse's ass he is on The Daily Show.

Michael Hicks, in his role on the TUSD School Board, will soon cast his vote not to renew Sean Arce's contract with the District.

See (I would say to my students), in an irony-free world, Sean Arce would stand up in front of the TUSD School Board and explain why Hicks is unfit for service as one of five people making decisions affecting students' educations. The other four Board members would either agree and vote on a resolution recommending that Hicks resign, or they would go up to Arce after the meeting and say to him privately, "I agree with you, but there's really nothing we can do. Let's hope the fool isn't reelected."

Unfortunately, our world is awash in irony. I imagine some fiction writers are shaking their heads right now, saying to themselves, "I can't top that Arce/Hicks story. Reality is trying to put me out of business."