Monday, September 20, 2010
No Place Like Soul
Perfectly soothing moment in time: Listening to "No Place Like Soul" album by Soulive; cool autumn breeze enveloping the room; drinking DD's pumpkin spice latte. Doesn't matter that I'm grading when I have this peaceful feeling emanating from my surroundings.
Monday-ne
That's supposed to be my super-clever pun of the words "mundane" and "Monday." Today had that feeling, like I was crawling through an Indy 500 race. Everything around me was spinning. Over the weekend, everyone asked me, "How are your classes? How are your classes?" And when I said "Good!" with a glazed look of satisfaction ("I completed one week with success!") part of me wanted to knee-jerk a superstitious knock on wood, but I didn't. I thought to myself, in the split-second interface before a knee-jerk wood-knocking would occur, that these kids really are good and I will have success this year.
Lo and behold, I had to raise my voice today for the first time in class. I actually said the words, "I don't like this class," which is probably not true and just an immediate reaction to my having to raise my voice for the first time in a long time. I found myself working through lunch and late after school to get done the work that this busy Monday called for.
After coming home and crashing on the couch, however, I awoke to a feeling of refreshment, knowing that Tuesday is a new day, and we teachers can accomplish real meaningful things. An illuminating factor was being invited to read my colleague's blog, on which a bunch of my former students discuss matters related to their English class: http://cangelosi12honors.blogspot.com/ It's nice to know the fruits of my former labors are in tact and prospering. That is reassuring.
Such is the teacher's struggle to invigorate Mondays and everydays, to hope our pupils gain knowledge and can progress. I always refer to Plato/Pythagoras by telling my students that I hope each day with me helps them "become better" somehow. And I guess in order for me to become better too, I need to be insufficient in something. So, I guess now I can effectively become better right along with my students. Neat-o gang!
Lo and behold, I had to raise my voice today for the first time in class. I actually said the words, "I don't like this class," which is probably not true and just an immediate reaction to my having to raise my voice for the first time in a long time. I found myself working through lunch and late after school to get done the work that this busy Monday called for.
After coming home and crashing on the couch, however, I awoke to a feeling of refreshment, knowing that Tuesday is a new day, and we teachers can accomplish real meaningful things. An illuminating factor was being invited to read my colleague's blog, on which a bunch of my former students discuss matters related to their English class: http://cangelosi12honors.blogspot.com/ It's nice to know the fruits of my former labors are in tact and prospering. That is reassuring.
Such is the teacher's struggle to invigorate Mondays and everydays, to hope our pupils gain knowledge and can progress. I always refer to Plato/Pythagoras by telling my students that I hope each day with me helps them "become better" somehow. And I guess in order for me to become better too, I need to be insufficient in something. So, I guess now I can effectively become better right along with my students. Neat-o gang!
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