It's. Friday. No, I'm not quite that excited for the week to be over, though the prospect of not having to project my voice over the masses for two days will be rather nice. I almost forgot that I needed to sit down and write this weekly reflection due to the fact that it was nice to sit down and do nothing! I would like to take this brief moment to thank all of the teachers I had throughout my years in school for all of their hard-work, dedication and patience in working with the under-appreciative, and sometimes unwilling participants in education, the students. Not that I was naive in thinking teachers had it easy, but I may have underestimated the physical wear and tear on the body after a week of being on your feet, moving around, and talking above the din. While I wouldn't go as far as to call it manual labor, it's no office job either.
My first experience with student projects occurred this week. Many students rose to the occasion and turned in creative, dynamic and otherwise insightful posters. Then there were the two or three who "left it on the kitchen table" and will be sharing their posters with the class next week at a "discounted rate." And then there were a couple who didn't turn in anything, nor did they come up with excuses, they simply didn't do it. These are the students I hope to appeal to over the course of the next couple of months. The highly self-motivated will turn in perfection at the drop of a hat, the chronic procrastinators will turn it around after a few kicks in the pants from bad grades, but the truly unmotivated, disinterested and otherwise unaffected students are the ones I hope to crack. I want to learn their story: What do they like? What are their hobbies? What makes them tick? Again, do not mistake my desire/motivation for naivety, I know that my chances of succeeding in this mission are slim, but that does not mean I shouldn't try.
I suppose the best way to sum up my experiences this week is to say my passion for teaching increases each day, and while I have a LONG way to go before I can call myself a successful teacher, I will make it. Each morning I wake up and the first thing I see (after the time on the alarm clock... ew.) is a plaque my parents gave me for Christmas that reads: "To teach is to touch a life forever." Sure, we've all heard it before, but I make it my goal each day to live that message and take all the outside pressures in stride.
-MB
ps. my favorite line from a crusade recruitment poster was: "Join the Crusade and whet your blade" (this is why I love high school)
My first experience with student projects occurred this week. Many students rose to the occasion and turned in creative, dynamic and otherwise insightful posters. Then there were the two or three who "left it on the kitchen table" and will be sharing their posters with the class next week at a "discounted rate." And then there were a couple who didn't turn in anything, nor did they come up with excuses, they simply didn't do it. These are the students I hope to appeal to over the course of the next couple of months. The highly self-motivated will turn in perfection at the drop of a hat, the chronic procrastinators will turn it around after a few kicks in the pants from bad grades, but the truly unmotivated, disinterested and otherwise unaffected students are the ones I hope to crack. I want to learn their story: What do they like? What are their hobbies? What makes them tick? Again, do not mistake my desire/motivation for naivety, I know that my chances of succeeding in this mission are slim, but that does not mean I shouldn't try.
-MB
No comments:
Post a Comment