And just like that the last week of the semester is upon that . . . and we are back to hybrid. I've enjoyed distance learning and all that it has taught me about what my students are and what they aren't capable of, but I'm eager to have kids in my classroom again, even if we have to interact behind masks.
Inside this week's Teaching Thoughts, you'll find . . .
Book of the Week- George Louis's Damn Good Advice (for people with talent!). I re-read this after a student did her Sticky-Note book report on it last year. I forgot how interesting it was. It was so much to offer - shock value, creativity, beauty, art, inspiration, and so much more.
Teaching Thoughts - Check out #80 - Students need role models. I know this is painfully obvious, but it's so ignored. I reflect on one of my favorite education books, Leon Botstein's Jefferson's Children. In it, Botstein notes the hypocrisy of adulthood: we spend hundreds of dollars on books for our kids and require them to read, but when do we act as role models and read in front of our kids? We want students to be curious, life-long learners, but when do students ever see that reflected in adults? We need future leaders to take care of us when we are old, yet how do we treat our current leaders? How do we step up and lead when we decry how terrible our current leadership is? Students need role models more than anything.
Why I Teach - I had a wonderful moment last week as I was grading "Young Goodman Brown" literary analysis for my College Comp classes. One of my writers, who works incredibly hard, put it all together on her essay and earned 100/100. No sooner had I entered the score into Synergy than my phone lit up with a text from the student saying how pumped she was about her score. Knowing how proud she was of her hard work is what teaching is really all about.
How do you get students to take pride in their success and growth? I'd love to hear from you!
Give This a Try in Your Classroom - Allsides.com. I just came across this website, and I have been blown away, even though many of my colleagues have been using it for a long time now. This website takes major headlines and organizes them into 'right leaning,' 'left leaning,' and 'leaning middle' biases. I can't begin to explain how useful this site is for me in my upcoming classes.
Bonus Content of the Week - Google Lens. This is an app for your smartphone that simply allows you to search images. Think of the possibilities!
Have a great final week of first semester! Need a little positivity? The days are getting longer! There is hope! PS - The background for this week's Teaching Thoughts is the old school Brick House at LHS.
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