I could have danced all night!
Teaching remotely from March to May, then working all summer, I'd forgotten, bit by bit, how much I love teaching. That is, I knew I loved it, but the love was faded by time and nibbled at by the ineffective, frustrating, and uninspiring nature of "distance learning."
But, ah! Yesterday I stepped into my classrooms, and there is was, that bone-deep tidal wave of passion for what I do. It sweeps away the hours of prep and grading and carries me to the stars. Is there any profession more enjoyable, more exhilarating, more rewarding? Teaching is a performance art -- if theater allowed you to bring the audience onto the stage and make them part of the play. Over the years, those bright hours in the classroom have, for their duration, banished flu, morning sickness, and profound sorrow alike. Trudge to work despondent, dance your way home.
We covered the Agricultural (aka Neolithic) Revolution yesterday, by the way. It was awesome. A surprising number of kids decided they'd rather be nomads than move to early agricultural communities, lol.
(Okay, I guess not *that* surprising given the likely level of sanitation in those communities. Better hold your nose while you eat your grain, kids!)
(I'm totally going to use one of those ancient Mesopotamian recipes to make them bread next week. They still remember the hard tack and coffee from our Civil War unit; I can't wait to see their faces when they get to try Sumerian bread!)
Anyway, the point is that I am -so grateful- that we're back to in-person learning. I don't know what the future holds, but I will treasure every single second in the classroom with these wonderful children.
But, ah! Yesterday I stepped into my classrooms, and there is was, that bone-deep tidal wave of passion for what I do. It sweeps away the hours of prep and grading and carries me to the stars. Is there any profession more enjoyable, more exhilarating, more rewarding? Teaching is a performance art -- if theater allowed you to bring the audience onto the stage and make them part of the play. Over the years, those bright hours in the classroom have, for their duration, banished flu, morning sickness, and profound sorrow alike. Trudge to work despondent, dance your way home.
We covered the Agricultural (aka Neolithic) Revolution yesterday, by the way. It was awesome. A surprising number of kids decided they'd rather be nomads than move to early agricultural communities, lol.
(Okay, I guess not *that* surprising given the likely level of sanitation in those communities. Better hold your nose while you eat your grain, kids!)
(I'm totally going to use one of those ancient Mesopotamian recipes to make them bread next week. They still remember the hard tack and coffee from our Civil War unit; I can't wait to see their faces when they get to try Sumerian bread!)
Anyway, the point is that I am -so grateful- that we're back to in-person learning. I don't know what the future holds, but I will treasure every single second in the classroom with these wonderful children.