So...my first days have definitely had a mixture of highs and lows (emphasis on the highs, mixed in with ample amounts of exhaustion, which is arguably a low). First things first, for the most part, I really like my kids! There are some that seem to live just to annoy me or interrupt class, but for the most part I've really enjoyed being around young peole and all they have to offer. Now, you might ask: What do they have to offer? Well the first thing is comedy. Working with high school students most of the summer I didn't get to experience all of the hilarity of puberty. Having pocket-sized little boys tell me that they have to go to break so that they can "get some numbers" is nothing less than amusing to me, especially when its used as some lame excuse for not doing work, at which my usual response is "that girl's not interested in you, do your work". I've also really enjoyed talking to the kids about their lives and finding out what their interested in and what they already know. At my school we've tried to implant the idea of college in their minds early, so I've had a lot of time to talk to my students about the idea of college and their futures. Some of these talks have been disappointing, like when a student said, "I don't wanna go to college, I'm just too lazy". But others have been really fun and exciting, especially when students ask about my college experiences (the appropriate ones) and want to learn more about colleges in Mississippi and in other states. The great thing about any of these conversations is that its early enough to make a big difference in their futures.
Another thing I've enjoyed about the last few days is just getting to talk about myself sometimes. I know that sounds shallow, but I mean it in the best possible way. When I interned for the program last summer, one of the things people told me was how important it is to expose your students to different things and teach them by relating your own experiences since they've undoubtedly experiences far less. While teaching geography for the past 2 weeks, I've sometimes had to rely on my own experiences and knowledge of other countries and regions to enliven the lesson. Fun fact: the closest thing to technology that I have in my classroom is a 40 yr old globe. SO...teaching geography can get real boring, real fast. I quickly learned that sometimes I can make these lessons more interesting just by talking about myself: where I'm from, where I've been, what those places are like. I fool the kids into thinking their learning about me (their awe-inspiring and mysterious teacher) and end up teaching them fun facts about different places and cultures instead.
Overall, I'm looking forward to my year. Although I've probably already experienced a year's worth of 7th grade attitude and what seems like months worth of sleep deprivation, I'm pretty happy overall. And I've already improved a lot thanks to my fellow MTCers. Looking forward to a bright future!
The humor is one of the things that kept me going last year. I easily heard kids say five hilarious things a day, if not more. I always meant to be more organized about writing them down and never got around to it. This year, I've literally got a small pad on my desk specifically for student quotes. You do the same. When we're old farts, it'll be fun to look back on the darndest things those chilluns were sayin'.
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