once and future jobs

[theboysgonehome]

At work at the moment. I love my job. At the rock wall desk with my coworker Dan looking up "cool stuff" (so far that means things like narwhals, the world's largest diamond, and Buddha). I've got a good job. I've got some climbers today, so I've taught some belaying and talked some shop, but it's overall a slow day, with the semester winding down

Comments

[hyacinth_sky747]

My advice for what it's worth. Read it with them. Infuse your passion and your voice into those pages. If you don't love it, don't make them read it. If you love it. Show them why. Then have them do something relevant. My fourth graders have produced wonderful graphic novels of the books they're reading.

Literature Circles are the most powerful means I know of to get kids motivated and interested in what they're reading.

You are their Spark Notes. You're better than Spark Notes. You are a real live human being who has swooned in the face of these words.

I find if I share that then kids just line up to be slaughtered by words.

[theboysgonehome]

I've always walked the line on whether or not I want to read to my students. I've had teachers who have done that, and it's been excellent, and I've had teachers do that and it makes his/her class into a bird course. I suppose I could always read some, but not all.

It's funny you mentioned graphic novels, I was just thinking the other day that it would be really interesting to teach a graphic novel. I think I'd like to do that someday.

Also, the way you write about teaching makes me wish I could be in the fourth grade again, just so you could teach me.

[kissme_g00dbye]

non je ne regrette rien...have you ever read Kurt Vonnegut's Jailbird? The clerk, or whoever keeps your things while you're locked up, played that song incessantly. He lost his Japanese lover, I forgot the circumstances, but they were awful. That song eased his pain.
I'll just never forget that part where he's singing along, or yelling along, and vonnegut writes, "Non!" he said, his teeth gnashing, his eyes blazing. "Je ne regrette rien! Rien!"

[kissme_g00dbye]

p.s. you're going to be the greatest teacher. i would start school from square one just to be in one of your classes.

[theboysgonehome]

I haven't read that one yet, but that sounds pretty amazing. I know the song first because an old vocal teacher of mine gave me a record of Edith Piaf's and basically said, "here, listen and learn." I know it secondly, because it's used extensively in Inception which is a pretty sweet movie.

Aww, thanks. I hope I will be. Every time I speak publicly lately all I can hear are my stammers and "ums" and I think, "I'm going to be terrible in front of a classroom!"