10/15/12
October 15. For the past ten years, at this point I'd be deep in the doldrums of teaching. Middle school kids realize around the beginning of October that they're in it for the long haul, so they set about trying new misbehaviors, and basically attempt to make teacher's lives hellish. At the same time, middle school teachers are realizing they've just finished one 6 week unit, and there are five more to go. This is when sluggishness and faux depression begin to set in.
I miss so many things about teaching: the wonder that appears on a kids' face when they figure something out about themselves, designing lessons based on current events that I know will kill in class the next day or week, seeing a child use his voice for the first time, and be heard for the beautiful person he is...etc.
I do not miss the endless hours of correcting papers, of trying to make relevant lessons fit into some prescribed and scripted curriculum that is boring as shit, I do not miss the constant disrespect from society (I get much more respect as a stay at home dad than I ever did as a teacher). Teaching is one of those things that I don't understand how people (including myself) fall in love with, but we do, and I'm sure I'll be there again some day.
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