Today we were asked to make a post from an in class conversation we had with three teachers who had taught or are teaching high school students. Unfortunately, I was not able to stay for the last speaker, but I learned quite a lot from the first two.
Although I love younger students, I always knew I wanted to teach high school. Not because I thought they would somehow be easier, but because of the types of projects I wanted to teach, and because I believe that was where I needed to make an impact. Unlike younger students who believe they can do anything and everyone is an artist, high school students loose that. It's something I would really like to change. Part of me feels completely ready for it, and part of me is really terrified. To be honest, I'm not much older than the students I will be teaching, so I feel like the chain of command will not be established by me just walking in the classroom. And no matter how much you study projects to do or classroom management skills, you really have no idea what will work until you get into your own class. That's pretty intimidating.
I really enjoyed the conversations with both DeAnna and Rich (the two teachers I was able to listen to) because DeAnna seemed to be the kind of teacher I wanted to be, and Rich taught in a position I would love to have. In just a short amount of time, two years, in fact, DeAnna was able to double the amount of students interested in the art program at her school and see to its positive changes. THAT'S AWESOME! She would also devote an hour of after school time to let students come in and work on their stuff after school. That kind of compassion and dedication is something I hold dear to my heart. Rich got to teach in a school for at risk students. I WOULD LOVE TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT! I have always wanted to go to a place that was disadvantaged and be a light to those students. Just one person can make all the difference in a student's life and potentially save them from going down a bad road. Some people may call me crazy, and I have actually been told many times I can't save everyone, but I figure, why not give it a try?
As for curriculum, like I said above, it's intimidating. While I can think of tons of projects I think would be interesting to try, I really have no idea if any of my students will enjoy them. It's my responsibility to give them
Although I love younger students, I always knew I wanted to teach high school. Not because I thought they would somehow be easier, but because of the types of projects I wanted to teach, and because I believe that was where I needed to make an impact. Unlike younger students who believe they can do anything and everyone is an artist, high school students loose that. It's something I would really like to change. Part of me feels completely ready for it, and part of me is really terrified. To be honest, I'm not much older than the students I will be teaching, so I feel like the chain of command will not be established by me just walking in the classroom. And no matter how much you study projects to do or classroom management skills, you really have no idea what will work until you get into your own class. That's pretty intimidating.
I really enjoyed the conversations with both DeAnna and Rich (the two teachers I was able to listen to) because DeAnna seemed to be the kind of teacher I wanted to be, and Rich taught in a position I would love to have. In just a short amount of time, two years, in fact, DeAnna was able to double the amount of students interested in the art program at her school and see to its positive changes. THAT'S AWESOME! She would also devote an hour of after school time to let students come in and work on their stuff after school. That kind of compassion and dedication is something I hold dear to my heart. Rich got to teach in a school for at risk students. I WOULD LOVE TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT! I have always wanted to go to a place that was disadvantaged and be a light to those students. Just one person can make all the difference in a student's life and potentially save them from going down a bad road. Some people may call me crazy, and I have actually been told many times I can't save everyone, but I figure, why not give it a try?
As for curriculum, like I said above, it's intimidating. While I can think of tons of projects I think would be interesting to try, I really have no idea if any of my students will enjoy them. It's my responsibility to give them