I've been feeling like a lousy, lazy teacher lately. It may be that I'm hit by an onslaught of end-of-the-year meetings, am overwhelmed by reams of paperwork, am looking to the end of the year and am disappointed that nearly half of my students are absent/will be absent in the coming weeks. But that's no excuse. I'm the adult here. Adults can't be bums.
But the best pick-me-up? Watching a student who is chronically sleepy, bored and who has claimed since day 1 that writing more than 5 words at a time makes him tired... write. He is using pre-writing strategies like making a web to brainstorm his ideas. He's using a topic sentence, adding supporting details AND using transitions. He's even making an effort to write in complete sentences. Today, he is writing an extensive paper on "Why students should be allowed to use vending machines at school." He is writing a persuasive paper to the school board. I've requested to the school board secretary that he be granted time to present his arguments to the school board members, who run our lives at the school but rarely interact with the students. (As administrators are apt to do, whether they want to or not.)
I'm sitting at my computer right now clacking this entry away as he sits at his desk to write. He's banished me to my desk, saying that he doesn't need help with ideas-- he'll do it himself and then he'll write it all out. He's stubborn about doing this himself. I want to remember this giddy feeling bubbling within me-- it's the egotistical feeling that surely I did something right to inspire this previously uninspired kid to express himself.
There are three more weeks of school left. He'll be heading to eighth grade within weeks. After an entire year of being uninspired, he's suddenly picking up his pace and asking me how to spell "therefore." Surely if he can rev up for the end of the school year, I can pick myself up too.
This is the time of year when attitude means everything. Just like a sports event, where the champion athletes reach deep to give themselves that extra burst of strength or speed, teachers have to reach deep into themselves to remember why they are teaching in order to get through these year-end blues. That "fry bread moment" or the time where you helped your dad's friend with an IEP issue remind you of how much you have learned, how much you have accomplished, and the enormity of the impact you are having.
Hundreds of years ago, your ancestors might have traveled to their provincial capitals to take a multi-day test to determine who would go to Beijing to represent the local community in civil service exams and other competitions. Today, you are representing not only your family but also the community of people who care about you and the important work you are doing. Reach deep and find that extra bit of energy and strength to get to the finish line.
Posted by: Phil Nash | April 27, 2006 at 12:28 PM