School....

Here are a few things that have happened at school that have made my day a bit brighter and more fulfilling...

Map Quest

My 4^th period World History is a small class. There are 2 girls and 9 boys. This past Friday, I had 3 of those boys absent. The day was reserved for completing assignments and wrapping up our unit on the Renaissance and Reformation. Several of the students were either finished or close to it. I had brought a pack of cards that they could play with, but the main attraction was the world map that I had finally been able to hang on the wall. Three of the kids were already examining it. So I suggested that they compete with each other to find places on the map, the reward being extra points.

                They were really enthusiastic and I began by calling out names of countries and places that we’d talked about last semester.  Mongolia. Japan. Rome. The Nile River. The Himalayan Mountains. Then we moved on to other parts of the world. Chile. Mexico City. Indonesia. Iceland. Portugal. Madagascar. They were loving it. “Miss, I found it!” “Hey right here!”. A few times I’d give them hints…Southern Hemisphere, Asia, North Africa.

                A couple more students finished their work and came up the map to join. By this time, the list of places to find was becoming harder. The Hudson Bay. The Bering Sea. The Galapagos Islands. St. Petersburg. Istanbul. Singapore. They were crowding over each other, scouring the map, running their fingers over the oceans and continents, turning around excitedly when they found the name. They were having so much fun that we ended up spending the majority of the class period on the game. They were happy to get extra points and not have to sit and take notes. I was happy that they were up, having fun, and discovering new things. It was a great way to end the week. 

Determination

As some of you may recall, back in November, one of the other social studies teachers quit. The classes were all moved around and the end result was that I had my 6^th period U.S. History class replaced with a 2^nd period U.S. History. Some of my former 6^th period students were surprised and upset, but they made the best of it. A few even came in to ask me for help on assignments. However, one of them was determined to get back into my class. This student kept telling me that he was going to learn better from my class. I told him that if his counselor said it was ok, then he could come into my 2^nd period. The process was a long one, since he had a conflict with his math class. However, after speaking with his other teacher, the counselor, and the vice principal, I was finally able to get him transferred into my 2^nd period. But since I had gotten him back into my class, I had one rule for him. He had to promise to focus, be respectful, and not disruptive.

                This student has been in my class for the past 2 weeks now, and has been doing very well. He knows the lengths I went to get him back into my class, and he was happy and grateful. Before he transferred in, we’d had a conversation about why he wanted to be back in my class so badly. I had been worried for awhile that my classes were boring, but this student told me that the kids liked how I taught and that they had been learning a lot. Which was exactly why he had wanted to continue taking U.S. history from me.

                I realized that even on the days when I feel defeated, with boring lessons and unruly kids, that I am still getting through to some of them. This student wanted to get back into my class because he thought I was a good teacher. He did not give up. So I cannot give up on him. I cannot give up on any of them. I may be worn down, tired, and desperately searching for an interesting and engaging lesson. I may have personal issues and worries, but I cannot give up on my students. Because some of them actually WANT to be in my class. They WANT to learn. And as their teacher, I must do the best I can to educate them. I will not give up.