[a thoughtful wednesday]
1. After my post this morning, I just want to say how much I love having other science-y people on my flist. Seriously. I get so freaking excited when people comment with technical language - it's like my most hardcore non-sexual kink ever. (In other words, instead of making me horny, it makes me grin like a grinny thing.) When I was up to my tits in science classes, I wasn't always so enthusiastic about it because it was all work work work in order to pass the tests, and I didn't have time to sit back and enjoy it, but now that I'm done with my obligation to it, I love every little tiny bit of it.
And my caveat to the obligation part is that I still teach it, and I love teaching it. I have a group of kids in ninth grade, and two groups in eighth grade, who specifically ask science questions every class just so they'll be in my group. Maybe it's the way I run my groups, or maybe it's just the subject, but either way, knowing that they enjoy science so much for whatever reason makes me a gleeful little Anj.
1b. Speaking of teaching, now that I've had time to let the JET interview sink in a bit, I've been thinking about what it is about teaching that I feel is the most important. The way the school system is designed in this country and (I'm sure) a lot of others, it's all aimed at passing tests, making the grade, etc etc etc. Even AVID, which is an amazing program, has this need for results. You can get away with a lot in your tutorials that the normal teachers couldn't, since you don't answer to the board of education (hence the reason a lot of tutorials tend to get heavy into issues like religion and abortion and gay marriage and so on), but you still have to show results. They're asking questions because they need help (theoretically), and so the idea is to help as many of them as possible.
But what I do find is that a lot of the kids I end up with aren't asking because they need help - they're asking because they want to know. And that, to me, is a million times more important than achieving results. I realise that's idealistic and probably a bit narrow-minded of me, since it's not like they can go on to love learning if they don't graduate high school, but I think it's a lot more important for them to actually want to learn than it is for them to be able to regurgitate facts. And so that is what I try to teach. A lot of the teachers (and some of the students) think I'm wasting my time with that, but that is definitely not going to stop me.
1c. There is nothing that makes me happier than translating academia into something my kids understand. Exhibit A: chemistry tutoring with two tenth graders.
Them: What's single replacement?
Me: If this wussy girl is dating a boy, and you step in with your awesomeness and steal her boyfriend, and there isn't a single thing she can do about it without calling in backup.
Them: ...and double displacement?
Me: You're dating one guy, she's dating another guy, but you get along better with her boyfriend and vice versa, so you...
Them: Trade! Ohhhhh! I totally get it!
I love teaching. So much.
2. On a slightly less happy note, I just want to say that I am getting really, really tired of entitlement. There isn't really one thing that brought this on - I've been upset about it for a long time, and from a bunch of different places. The entitlement of a rich student who thinks the only purpose you have is to be at her beck and call. The entitlement of fans who read everything that's presented but then don't bother to comment on any of it because it's always there at their fingertips, and only come out of the woodwork to complain. The entitlement of fangirls who are always demanding more and more of their favourite actors, when they should consider themselves damned lucky to have the privilege of seeing them act at all, never mind being able to interact with them. And so forth. It's just...it makes me angry. I probably shouldn't be, since it's sort of to be expected, but I don't like the idea of being just like 'oh, well people suck, I should deal with it', because that's not me at all. So I rage. You may feel free to ignore me.
And now I return to pastiche. Anything that has Yuushi hanging upside down out of a tree is just fine by me, thank you. :D
And my caveat to the obligation part is that I still teach it, and I love teaching it. I have a group of kids in ninth grade, and two groups in eighth grade, who specifically ask science questions every class just so they'll be in my group. Maybe it's the way I run my groups, or maybe it's just the subject, but either way, knowing that they enjoy science so much for whatever reason makes me a gleeful little Anj.
1b. Speaking of teaching, now that I've had time to let the JET interview sink in a bit, I've been thinking about what it is about teaching that I feel is the most important. The way the school system is designed in this country and (I'm sure) a lot of others, it's all aimed at passing tests, making the grade, etc etc etc. Even AVID, which is an amazing program, has this need for results. You can get away with a lot in your tutorials that the normal teachers couldn't, since you don't answer to the board of education (hence the reason a lot of tutorials tend to get heavy into issues like religion and abortion and gay marriage and so on), but you still have to show results. They're asking questions because they need help (theoretically), and so the idea is to help as many of them as possible.
But what I do find is that a lot of the kids I end up with aren't asking because they need help - they're asking because they want to know. And that, to me, is a million times more important than achieving results. I realise that's idealistic and probably a bit narrow-minded of me, since it's not like they can go on to love learning if they don't graduate high school, but I think it's a lot more important for them to actually want to learn than it is for them to be able to regurgitate facts. And so that is what I try to teach. A lot of the teachers (and some of the students) think I'm wasting my time with that, but that is definitely not going to stop me.
1c. There is nothing that makes me happier than translating academia into something my kids understand. Exhibit A: chemistry tutoring with two tenth graders.
Them: What's single replacement?
Me: If this wussy girl is dating a boy, and you step in with your awesomeness and steal her boyfriend, and there isn't a single thing she can do about it without calling in backup.
Them: ...and double displacement?
Me: You're dating one guy, she's dating another guy, but you get along better with her boyfriend and vice versa, so you...
Them: Trade! Ohhhhh! I totally get it!
I love teaching. So much.
2. On a slightly less happy note, I just want to say that I am getting really, really tired of entitlement. There isn't really one thing that brought this on - I've been upset about it for a long time, and from a bunch of different places. The entitlement of a rich student who thinks the only purpose you have is to be at her beck and call. The entitlement of fans who read everything that's presented but then don't bother to comment on any of it because it's always there at their fingertips, and only come out of the woodwork to complain. The entitlement of fangirls who are always demanding more and more of their favourite actors, when they should consider themselves damned lucky to have the privilege of seeing them act at all, never mind being able to interact with them. And so forth. It's just...it makes me angry. I probably shouldn't be, since it's sort of to be expected, but I don't like the idea of being just like 'oh, well people suck, I should deal with it', because that's not me at all. So I rage. You may feel free to ignore me.
And now I return to pastiche. Anything that has Yuushi hanging upside down out of a tree is just fine by me, thank you. :D