Saturday's Thoughts

One interesting thing that often happens for me is that people leave interesting articles or magazines in my PO box.

One of my fellow democrat colleagues (though I was recently called - gasp - a closet republican) often leaves me editorials from the Star Trib that are always delightful. I just got one on Thursday regarding the Obama administration's new education reform movement called Race To The Top. More on this later.

Our principal also placed a copy of District Administration in my box last week. The issue was devoted to mobile devices (cell phones and iPods) and how to use them in the classroom. He obviously knew this was an issue near and dear to my heart. More on this later too.

My point, though, is that this is what a learning environment is all about: people sharing things they find interesting, debating, discussing, and exchanging ideas.

I think at LHS we have a pretty healthy environment for this. Last week alone this happened quite a bit.

During my prep I have an independent study student always working. She usually brings two of her friends who use my room as a study hall. I was doing a bit of organizing and cleaning when their yearbook instructor popped her head in. We had a wonderfully discussion of literature, poetry, teaching, learning, and a number of other things. The block passed as if it were just a few minutes.

The following morning another fellow English teacher and I talked for a good twenty minutes in the copier closet about education reform and what we'd like to see improved.

Prior to fourth block that same day two colleagues and I spent about 20 minutes talking about how being a parent changes your life so utterly that it is really impossible to prepare for. Then we talked about the myth of nostalgia. Finally, we talked at length about how this generation of kids, the digital natives, are different from our respective generations - and what we can do to reach them.

This last jaw session reminded me of what my former teachers used to do. Sometimes Mr. Coenen and Mr. Lundeen (science teachers) would visit during hall duty and extend their talk into the beginning moments of class (and longer if we were fortunate).

I was guilty of the same thing. But the discussion was so damn good that I felt it warranted starting class a bit late (I'm sure the students didn't really mind, though I did have one who came out and asked if they could start Training Day without me!).

On Friday, I was lucky enough to have three such discussions. First, our principal stopped by during his usual early afternoon rounds and we talked about Race to the Top and its benefits and ample downfalls. Then during fourth block, I stopped down to the library to check on some athletes who had to leave early for a hockey game and were finishing Training Day down in the library. There I ran into a couple of fellow teachers up in the computer lab and we discussed RTTT yet again (this was where I was called the closet republican!). Finally, another English teacher stopped in and we both vented about our frustrations concerning this time of the semester where often times you feel like you're just spinning your wheels in the classes. This was the perfect way to end the week because when I left school, I felt a lot better that someone else was facing the same frustrations as me (students not using their work time well - or the fact that I even had to give work time - we talked about what it would be like to teach in a day and age (if it ever existed at all) when no work time was even necessary because students simply did all of the reading and writing outside of class . . . well, maybe if RTTT has its way that is how it will be in four years time -- please stifle the laughter).

That is the type of environment that makes our staff so successful. At least, it makes me feel motivated and engaged.

Now I just have to find a way to share stories and ideas with my students the same way the staff does with me.