I guess I've got some 'splainin' to do...
My sophomores (English II Honors) are working on memoirs, and as a good teacher should, I'm working on a model for them to work off of. I always like to make models for the students so that I can know exactly how much work goes into an assignment, so that I can show them what I'm looking for, and so that I can quell any and all complaints about how my work is "sooooooo hard!"
I've got several ideas for what I can write about for them. I could write about my first time to Europe. I could write about the day I spent at UM's Richter Library with Steph A. and Steph V...Or I could write about something more. Is it right to let my students know so much about me? To let them know that I, too, am human?
Memoirs are supposed to make meaning out of a memory. Are all my memories too personal to show my students the meanings behind them? The importance to my life?
Lately, I've been looking back at old photos, and I've seen so many forgotten memories race back. I remember the days I took those pictures. I'm reading the old notebooks in which we used to write letter to each other, and many more emotions and memories come back. Which one is right for "public consumption"?
Where is the line that warns me that I'm getting too close to my students?
I've got several ideas for what I can write about for them. I could write about my first time to Europe. I could write about the day I spent at UM's Richter Library with Steph A. and Steph V...Or I could write about something more. Is it right to let my students know so much about me? To let them know that I, too, am human?
Memoirs are supposed to make meaning out of a memory. Are all my memories too personal to show my students the meanings behind them? The importance to my life?
Lately, I've been looking back at old photos, and I've seen so many forgotten memories race back. I remember the days I took those pictures. I'm reading the old notebooks in which we used to write letter to each other, and many more emotions and memories come back. Which one is right for "public consumption"?
Where is the line that warns me that I'm getting too close to my students?