One of Those Teaching Moments...
I know I've been a bit quiet lately. I've been busy with the Year of Getting Things Done (and I have been getting things done) and not much to report. I haven't done much writing because I've been focusing on that, but I had a chance this past weekend to work on the final chapter of "Poetry and Provocations" this past weekend. I'm not done, but I got a lot accomplished and I'm going into the final bit of smut story. Look for it soon.
Teachers aren't supposed to have favorites, but we all know that's a load of hooey. We do. One of my favorites is a quirky, punky girl who's been with me in my reading classes for the past few years and is currently a junior (11th grade). We have very different tastes in books but she will read a book if I recommend it, or if I declare, "I HATED THIS BOOK!" I kid you not, this student will immediately go pick up the book and read it to try to figure out why I didn't like it. She's a gifted writer and I've always encouraged to her pursue a career in writing. She loves to write fanfiction and she likes me because I give her feedback about the quality of her stories, not about her spelling and grammatical errors. We've built a trust up and I'm sincerely going to miss her when she graduates next year.
I've spoken to her about college and majoring in English, which she's been a bit reluctant to do. This girl came to me today and showed me a brochure for the University of Houston. She turned to the list of majors and pointed, "English, Mrs. Leonard, with a focus on Creative Writing. This is where I want to go to school and that's what I want to study. You've convinced me." I gave her a huge hug and we talked about what she needs to do to get into her college of choice.
These are the moments as a teacher that are few and far between. They're the moments that tell you that your students actually DO listen to you (even if it seems like most of the time they aren't). They're the moments that remind you that you have been charged with a very precious and very daunting task: to inspire the next generation and to prepare them for success at whatever they do.
I am blessed to be in this job.
Teachers aren't supposed to have favorites, but we all know that's a load of hooey. We do. One of my favorites is a quirky, punky girl who's been with me in my reading classes for the past few years and is currently a junior (11th grade). We have very different tastes in books but she will read a book if I recommend it, or if I declare, "I HATED THIS BOOK!" I kid you not, this student will immediately go pick up the book and read it to try to figure out why I didn't like it. She's a gifted writer and I've always encouraged to her pursue a career in writing. She loves to write fanfiction and she likes me because I give her feedback about the quality of her stories, not about her spelling and grammatical errors. We've built a trust up and I'm sincerely going to miss her when she graduates next year.
I've spoken to her about college and majoring in English, which she's been a bit reluctant to do. This girl came to me today and showed me a brochure for the University of Houston. She turned to the list of majors and pointed, "English, Mrs. Leonard, with a focus on Creative Writing. This is where I want to go to school and that's what I want to study. You've convinced me." I gave her a huge hug and we talked about what she needs to do to get into her college of choice.
These are the moments as a teacher that are few and far between. They're the moments that tell you that your students actually DO listen to you (even if it seems like most of the time they aren't). They're the moments that remind you that you have been charged with a very precious and very daunting task: to inspire the next generation and to prepare them for success at whatever they do.
I am blessed to be in this job.