What do you love the most about teaching?
Jamie-The single best thing about teaching is absolutely having the privilege of working with middle school students each and every day. I love to grow readers and writers in my classroom. There is no better feeling in the world then making a student believe in themselves. Every year I tell my students how I was once a reluctant reader and how I found reading to be very difficult. Then I explain that each year is a fresh start, and if they allow me, I can help them to discover the path to being a reader (and writer, too). I am a big fan of Nancy Atwell and use many of her teaching strategies from The Reading Zone. Early in the school year, I tell students that they can read any book of their choice for independent reading--no worry about Lexile level. Students should read voraciously books of their choosing. I allow students to re-read favorites from past years. Also, I tell students they can skip pages or chapters if their not into the book. We discuss how to abandon books, and how to choose the "right" books. My students and I talk about books like most people talk about television shows and movies. We write book reviews, produce book trailers, and record podcasts about what we are reading. At the end of the year, I love the satisfaction of seeing their faces when they self-evaluate their reading by totaling up the number of books and pages read. Smiles all around! I know I don't change the minds of all, but I do know they leave my class having enjoyed reading at least a little bit more...at least that is what my students have told me over the years in their exit letters to me.
Meg- Like Jamie, what I love about teaching is the enthusiasm, quirks, and antics of my middle school students. Not a day goes by in my classroom that I don't laugh with at least one (and usually many more) students, and I generally have hilarious anecdotes to share with my husband every night. I still remember clearly the student in my first year of teaching who asked to go to the bathroom, and when I looked up at him I saw he had drawn cat whiskers on himself in Sharpie marker. This year one of my most enjoyable students may be the one who, upon going through role call on the first day of school, requested I call him "the doctor" in a very thick British accent (and no, he wasn't actually British). I often think I should write my own version of Chicken Soup for the Teacher's Soul as an anthology of all my favorite middle school student encounters. While we know teaching critical thinking and problem solving skills are important, the relationships we form with our students are of equal importance to their confidence and social-emotional health. The kids are the ones who help me remember this each and every day.
No comments:
Post a Comment