It turns out that no matter how hard you try to put off the inevitable, it always happens anyway. And so it is with school. I have to admit that during the summer there were times when I was ready to go back to school, grade papers, make tests, and yes...even deal with students who declare that "history has nothing to do with my life, so I could care less about it." (I'm paraphrasing as there may be children reading this blog.) Looking back on those few (and far between) days, I'm thinking I should have been checked for signs of insanity or I must have been EXTREMELY bored.
However, the school year has started despite my reluctance to wake up at the break of dawn...or rather the pre-dawn. And yes, I am back in the thick of papers, test, discipline, and lesson planning. While I can't say that I'm super excited to wake up early and go to bed late due to working regular 14+ hour days or completing my various "teacher duties," I am excited about getting my students to realize that history does affect their lives and that its not as "horrible" as they believe it to be. It is exciting when the students remember information we've covered, and more so when they realize the connection it has with their lives. While its a little early to tell if my students for this year will be willing to work towards that goal, I certainly hope they will be.
I'll try to keep you all updated on how the year is progressing, so be prepared for various messages with varying emotions. You may hear a positive update today, but a negative one tomorrow. And so goes the profession of teaching...
4 comments:
here's to a good year!
we talked about modern history in my class tonight - history of the internet. we even saw a picture of a commodore 64 with space invaders on the screen, which, thanks to your dad, i recognized right off the bat. then all the cool kids laughed at the sound of a dial-up modem (while facebooking and IMing each other). ah, school - it's fun from both sides?
Ah, teaching... yes, there are good days and then there are other days. Nothing better than having a student come back and letting you know they enjoyed your class or appreciated what you did for them or I should've paid attention...the beat goes on!! No pun intended! Have a good year! Love, MomK
i can sympathize a bit... studens tend not to like the required history classes (and the papers they have to write) I teach (well, assist in teaching), and have trouble determining how such courses will help them in their future engineering, etc. careers... I like to remind them that history gives context and meaning to thier lives and paper writing helps them acquire critical thinking skills, reasoning skills, the ability to make a coherent argument, etc. but they have to come to that realization on their own, which some never do... sigh.
Good luck! PS are the students interested in the election at all?
Thanks for writing all! Jenn - Am I not a "cool kid" if I remember (and though I hate to wait for a connection) and kind of enjoy the dial-up modem sound? ; ) Thanks mom, I certainly hope I have more coming back and letting me know I've done something right. Chris - I've tried to start a decision about the election, since we're currently studying the first couple of presidents and the expansion of America. Unfortunately, they are sorely informed about the issues. Also, they have a tendency to be more annoyed that they're missing their favorite show than interested in what's happening in the election. Of those students who did have something to add to the discussion, I was surprised at how many of them regurgitated false/misleading information they'd heard or read on the internet. So then we had a small side discussion about reliable news sources. One of the most interesting questions I had answered was "Do you think that race/ethnicity, gender, or religion should be considered in selecting a president?" and "Do you think it will matter in this election?" It sparked an interesting bit of discussion.
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