teacher  

"Education is not a product: mark, diploma, job, money; It is a process, a never-ending one." -bel kaufman

Wednesday, September 15, 2004

 

the argument

i am tired. i am back to my routine of taking long naps after school, not to mention sleeping seven hours a night.

today i broke up a fight in third period. well, an argument. pre-fight. almost there. two females who each had to have the last word. it ended with me standing between them, not even trying to raise my voice. i didn't want to add to the commotion. so i stood calmly hoping one might look to me for a way out, but they had long lost the ability to hear anything but themselves. i motioned for one of the other students to get the principal whose office was only a few doors down.

the rest of the day went well. the period after lunch tends to be a siesta for the students--blank stares, little motivation. i can sympathize. my head usually hurts after fourth period. i had a bicycle accident yesterday and landed on my back. the pain is constant.

i am also still substituting the morning english classes, a fact which the students love, but i am beginning to tire of. the administration tells me they'll have someone permenent any day now, but so far there is no teacher and i wish i could plan a project--something to get the students more involved. we're reading Animal Farm by George Orwell. luckily, i have been able to keep the students interested. today, i told them the book is based on a true story. "What? You bogus!" and then i explain a bit about the 1917 russian revolution. we have fun.

journalism classes are still working on basic interviewing skills and feature articles. we all can't wait to get started on the magazine, myself included, but teaching them the technique now will save time later. "you've got to learn to walk before you can learn to run," i told a student today.

photography has no photography yet. the students are anxious, but we are working on art history and understanding technique and compostion. 7th period, 15 students, some of the most rowdy kids with full blown ADHD, but we still keep it together some how. i think it's mostly based on the fact that i've known most of theses students for as long as they've been enrolled in our school and a mutual respect has grown between us. they still get rowdy, but they actually listen when i talk to them. when i began teaching, i could only wish for such things.

tomorrow is another day. 8 months teaching and many years till i perfect this job. but someday...


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