My favorite part of teaching comes from interactions with kids. I love their enthusiasm, creativity and downright craziness (although, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have written those words at 3:30 Friday afternoon). This week's celebrations come from those little moments.
For years I posted silly student quotes on a wall in my room. You know the ones. Kids say and do things in class all the time that just make you laugh. For some reason, I haven't written them down in awhile, but several students think I should start again. And I may. But this little snippet would be too long for the quote wall. It deserves to be shared.
My College Prep Lit class is a small (10) group of great kids. Three gifted and talented sophomores, the rest juniors and seniors. I've had them all in class before and they get along fabulously. They are not afraid to admit when they don't know or don't understand something. And they are not afraid to fact check me.
We started our reading of Elie Wiesel's Night this week. After some background discussion, I assigned the Preface and the Forward for the night's reading. There was some whispering, some giggling, coming from the sophomore girls.
"I thought it was pronounced pree-face."
I laughed.
From the rest of the room, came the giggles of agreement.
The next day a senior girl told me it was her word of the day. She told everyone she knew how to pronounce the word.
But, a couple of them did admit to fact checking. Thank Heavens Google agreed with me!
And then there's these guys....
Leftover props from a Drama assignment. "They mysteriously" move about my room throughout the day. It took some time for most students to notice them and longer to notice that they move.
But now.
It's a new game. Every day I have a few students who come in the room and see how fast they can spot them. The corn is getting better at hiding, so sometimes it takes a bit. I guess it really is the little things that keep us entertained.
My last celebration is me. I'm writing more again and that's a good thing. My notebook sits beside me so I can jot down little pieces that maybe will become bigger pieces. And maybe not. But at least I'm writing!
My last celebration is me. I'm writing more again and that's a good thing. My notebook sits beside me so I can jot down little pieces that maybe will become bigger pieces. And maybe not. But at least I'm writing!
Deb, I enjoyed your thoughts on silly kids and how engaged they are with your corn (fall in the making). Now that you are writing again (that is a good thing) maybe you will create a digital inspiration of autumn where you live for my Autumnventure Gallery.
ReplyDeleteSo much here to celebrate! I'm glad to see you back here in this space. "But at least I'm writing!" This is not a small thing!
ReplyDeleteHumor in class is highly valuable. Great to have your voice back in the blogsphere.
ReplyDeleteIt's great to hear your voice here again. The humor evident in your classroom speaks to the joy that is there. Corn that moves around the classroom - it is the little things that enliven the environment of our classrooms!
ReplyDelete