Ladies and gentlemen, the school year has begun. Even though it has only been almost two weeks, I woke up today, a Monday, feeling like Bruce off Bruce Almighty when Jennifer Aniston pulls the cover off of him and he flops on the bed like a fish not wanting to wake up. I love school, but everyone knows the schedule is hard to get back into.
The new possibilities a teacher is faced with every new school year seem endless. We tell ourselves that we will do better with classroom management, we will try to avoid "movie" days to ensure more instruction time, we will get to the district achievement goal for testing on the state test, and we will inspire our students to want to come to school. Now, I know I'm only a third year teacher, but ever since I have started my teaching career, it has been about much more than that.
In my classroom, I want to teach my students to better themselves everyday, to strive not only in the classroom but in life, to find inspiration in a word, a song, or a picture and let that drive them through a tough time, to know that they are safe in my classroom to chat, to get food, to relax and enjoy the musical stylings of the day, or to just escape. This feeling is one that I strive to achieve every day and every year. Now, that may be the "new teacher ambition" that all teachers say goes away, but with all my heart, I hope not. Because it is with that hope that I can help a student at some critical point in their life.
Maybe all that is just the dreamy side of me.
The wall has been an immense success. The students have not only taken the time to dream up 5 goals, but to also choose one to publish publicly. There are close to 130 goals on this wall, and each one of them reveals a little bit about the character who wrote it. Some are goofy, while some are serious. Some are far fetched, while some are easily achievable. Some are sassy, while some are reserved. One thing is for certain, a day has not gone by that a student hasn't asked about certain goals.
"What is Poznan?" (Polish city)
"What is ASL?" (American Sign Language)
"Why would someone's goal be to fall in love?"
"How hard is it to get into West Point?"
"How do you get baptized?"
"How does one become Batman without being unbelievably crazy?
These questions allow interesting and long conversations that gets the whole class discussing. These kids aren't stuck behind a computer or a tablet and they aren't sitting in silence reading (only on Fridays). They are learning not to criticize other people for their viewpoints, and they are expanding their minds to the people around them, and they are talking about more than just the school gossip.
Isn't that the beauty of education: that education doesn't have to be about the activities and lessons we plan, but to help foster discussions and thinking outside the small box that is high school?
Until next time, peace out, people scouts!
The new possibilities a teacher is faced with every new school year seem endless. We tell ourselves that we will do better with classroom management, we will try to avoid "movie" days to ensure more instruction time, we will get to the district achievement goal for testing on the state test, and we will inspire our students to want to come to school. Now, I know I'm only a third year teacher, but ever since I have started my teaching career, it has been about much more than that.
In my classroom, I want to teach my students to better themselves everyday, to strive not only in the classroom but in life, to find inspiration in a word, a song, or a picture and let that drive them through a tough time, to know that they are safe in my classroom to chat, to get food, to relax and enjoy the musical stylings of the day, or to just escape. This feeling is one that I strive to achieve every day and every year. Now, that may be the "new teacher ambition" that all teachers say goes away, but with all my heart, I hope not. Because it is with that hope that I can help a student at some critical point in their life.
Maybe all that is just the dreamy side of me.
The wall has been an immense success. The students have not only taken the time to dream up 5 goals, but to also choose one to publish publicly. There are close to 130 goals on this wall, and each one of them reveals a little bit about the character who wrote it. Some are goofy, while some are serious. Some are far fetched, while some are easily achievable. Some are sassy, while some are reserved. One thing is for certain, a day has not gone by that a student hasn't asked about certain goals.
"What is Poznan?" (Polish city)
"What is ASL?" (American Sign Language)
"Why would someone's goal be to fall in love?"
"How hard is it to get into West Point?"
"How do you get baptized?"
"How does one become Batman without being unbelievably crazy?
These questions allow interesting and long conversations that gets the whole class discussing. These kids aren't stuck behind a computer or a tablet and they aren't sitting in silence reading (only on Fridays). They are learning not to criticize other people for their viewpoints, and they are expanding their minds to the people around them, and they are talking about more than just the school gossip.
Isn't that the beauty of education: that education doesn't have to be about the activities and lessons we plan, but to help foster discussions and thinking outside the small box that is high school?
Until next time, peace out, people scouts!
Comments
Post a Comment