Year 3 of my time as a big boy teacher has come to an end and I must say that I have learned so much. This is no surprise as I have been warned this would be the case. “Teachers are learning just as they are teaching.” It’s why teachers are labeled philosophers. God knows I’m feeling it every day. I’m always learning something new and figuring out the best way to teach it to the next flow of students.
Educational
I’m leading into the last month of my tenth grader’s school year and I have to say…I’m learning more this year than last year. I have learned more about Realism and the origins of Science Fiction. But the magical realism lesson stuck with me the most, mainly because I can finally put a name to it.
Everything is going pretty well this week and I thank God for that as it doesn’t happen often. I wouldn’t say it was “smooth sailing” because it’s the education field and nothing is ever “smooth sailing”. However, I will say that it was one of my easier work weeks.
There are so many things that I had to do for my students; I’m amazed that I’m still awake while typing. On top of that, I had to get my tuition taken care of for this month – and the next semester. I wanted to make sure that my last semester was paid for before I begin my next semester. That was the easiest part, believe it or not. The other things on my list…not so much.
The first week of school is completed, and I am beyond proud of my students. My class got bigger by three students, and I’m already enamored by their dedication to their goals. Most of them already know what they want to major in for their university while some have an idea but not where to start. However, a few of them don’t know what they want to do because of the many choices available to them. Sure, they are nervous about that…but I let them know that that’s part of the fun of their journey.
Today is a good day for many reasons. I just finished my last paper for my Literary Theory and now I can return to my actual writing (I was only doing about 25%). I will admit that this class was something fierce and gave me a newfound respect for literary theorists. I mean, the amount of analytical thinking involved with this type of narrative nonfiction is quite something. It’s something else entirely and I know hands-down that I’m not going anywhere near it after I finish this class.
Let me be the first to admit this openly: I don’t have much of an analytical bone. When I read books, I notice things and can examine the surface meaning and themes of the books. However, I can’t say I can apply criticism/lenses to them. You know…psychoanalytical, feminist, Marxist, deconstructionist, and such. And, it’s because of this that I’m having a difficult time in my current class.
So, I’m writing this blog during my break – at work! Yes! I am at work because the Chinese government doesn’t like it when students lose a day of school. So, since we had a five-day week (one was the actual holiday), we were told that last Sunday and this Saturday would be work days. Yeah…my students and I are pissed.
So, I have two new students in my Grade 9 class and two in my Grade 8 and with it brought a whole new set of challenges. However, it wasn’t as bad as my previous student. She was a total nightmare and all my students hated her. Even Jack-Jack didn’t like her – and he likes everyone. Anyway, I would like to focus on the two that I’m responsible for.