There really is no purpose for this blog update except to have word throw up.
You've been warned.
Being a teacher is HARD. (Again, I am not putting down other jobs, or saying mine is tougher than anyone else's, etc, just. venting.) There is no instant gratification in being a teacher. I feel that if you care about making a difference, and truly want to help kids, it is HARD. I constantly second guess myself if what I am doing is the right thing, or if I am doing everything I can to help these kids. I love these kids. I care about these kids. I think about these kids all the time. I lose sleep over these kids. I just don't know if it is actually making any difference. Some days I just wonder if it is all for nothing. It would be so much easier to go to a job everyday where you don't have to take it home with you. You just do your thing, go home, and not ever worry about it. Would the kids even notice or care if I didn't?
We as educators try so hard to make our lessons relevant and engaging, and are constantly changing our classrooms and methods to keep up with the "flavor of the week" ideas that come across. Sometimes I just wish we got some instant gratification from teaching. I just wish I knew that all this hard work was making a difference. I want my kids to leave my classroom better people. Smarter. More educated about the world around them. Critical thinkers. GOOD people. I hope that someday when they are asked about a teacher that made a difference in their lives, they remember their English class.
Okay. Enough self pity. I do want to focus on positives.
While in the process of writing this post I had my English 9 students, who are currently reading Hunger Games. I had a freshman boy, who has seen the movies, tell me that he is enjoying the book MORE than the movies, and asked if he could read ahead. Game changer. I'm hoping I can also get some of the kids to keep reading the books, and then maybe even similar books after that. I really do believe that Hunger Games is the gateway drug to enjoying books
Peace, Love
Ms. A
