Karma Redirected

When Mo Mickus was in the 8^thgrade, all of the teachers in his school – except one – signed a petition to remove him from all county schools.  Karma Redirected is the mostly real memoirs of the mostly real Mo Mickus.  A series of tales chronicles Mo’s emergence into the world as well as his seemingly pointless meandering.  After allowing the world to nurture and mold his meanness, Mo blossoms as a rotten kid, hated by teachers and anyone in a position of authority.  Fortunately, or unfortunately  – depending on your point of view – Mo becomes a Buddhist, and in an ironic twist, Mo then becomes a middle school teacher.  What appears to be severe karmic retribution is actually a profound transformation into a mission for Mo – a mission that nurtures Mo’s happiness and allows him to create value and to contribute to the success and happiness of others.

Mike Morris began teaching middle school English when he turned 40.  For 23 years he shared stories with his students as part of a writer workshop activity called “The Rest of the Story.” Students became very good at offering criticism and making suggestions.  On occasions they would laugh.  Sometimes they shed tears and laughed at the same time. At other times, they expressed outrage and questioned how someone like Mike Morris would be allowed to be a teacher. As stories accumulated, very kind students began suggesting that their English teacher turn his stories into a book.  Mike Morris took their encouragement to heart and added other stories to the stories he had shared with them and published his first book. "Karma Redirected: How Did They Let You Become a Teacher" is this book – a humorous and sad and inspiring and mostly true story.