Today was one of those days that shows me why it's important to work hard as a teacher every day even when the kids seem disengaged. In my grade 12 class I told them we were reading a one act play called "Toronto at Dreamer's Rock" and gave the option to read silently, listen to a lame recording of me reading it (which is particularly bad since part of the play is in Ojibway...), or to read aloud. They chose to read aloud! That blew me away to start with, since this is one of the classes that didn't even have the confidence to answer 'yes' or 'no' aloud during class.
So we started reading and they got right into it, changing their intonation depending on the characters, laughing at the jokes in the play and gesturing while they spoke. At 3:45 (usual quittin' time for the students) we still had 15 pages to go, so I told them we could finish up tomorrow if they wanted and every single student elected to stay an extra 25 minutes to finish reading it!! I cheered for them at the end (and maybe a little bit for myself) because this has never happened before! This is one of those heartwarming teaching moments they showed us in lame videos in teacher's college. So I guess it has taken them a month to care enough, a month to feel comfortable enough in class and a month to trust me enough to want to really learn. And I think...just maybe...(but don't tell anyone I said this or it'll jinx me...) that I might have made learning fun...
So I am sitting in my portable now, on my teaching high, smelling sweet smells of a bonfire nearby (either it's that or the elementary kids have set the main school building on fire..I technically can't see it from my window...) and what is more is that I have one more day of teaching tomorrow and then I'm home! Woo!
I can say now honestly, will full conviction, that I think I really do belong teaching up here this year, and that it is going to be worth it, even with all the difficulties of living in the North.
On an entirely unrelated, yet awesome note, I won YET ANOTHER studentawards.com award through facebook..this time for $250! It's the third time I've won with them, they are so awesome. I'm technically still an Ottawa U student...so it's all good there and I can also use it to pay for one of my many expensive flights home :) Everything's coming up Karen..
I think that's all my news for right now, stay cool bloggies
Thats so exciting!
ReplyDeleteI remember when i was little and you taught me the difference of nouns, verbs and adjectives. To this day, you're the reason why i know those silly thing, bless you. So i can personally say you are a wonderful teacher, those kids have it good.
Yay! congrats!
Haha Thanks ;)...i do remember that. We made a chart and we went over it 100 times before i let you go upstairs so i could prove to everyone i had taught you something. I no longer use scare tactics to instill knowledge in my students :P Any time you want to discuss verbs, nouns and adjectives I would be happy to eat orange popsicles in Grandpas basement and go over them.
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ReplyDeleteYay for Miss Lake, teacher extraordinare!!
ReplyDeleteI have no doubt that your students are going to feel lucky to have had you this year.
Note to anonymous: If you have a problem with something, have the guts to put your name to it or don't bother.
I'm gonna go with that anonymous was Sasha, but i took care of it.. lol
ReplyDeleteWhen I first read this, I thought it was going to be about something akin to the Webequie version of SuperHappyLucky Convienience. I was wrong, but very very very happy about this news. I smiled a lot while reading this, but now I also kind of want to read the play.
ReplyDeleteSince I'm sans-job, can I come be in your class Miss Lake?