Day 9, 9.18
I have a rather unusual long-term goal -- to eliminate all first-person singular pronouns from my teaching vocabulary. I spend entirely too much time thinking about how “I” am doing as a teacher, why “my” classes aren’t more exciting, how “my” scholars can do better in their study of English, why students sometimes don’t seem interested in what “I” am saying. Teaching and learning is not, never was, and never will be about an individual teacher who’s worried about how “he” or “she” is doing. Teaching and learning is always about “we”, not “I” – about “us” (teacher and students together), not “me, me, me, me”.
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We had a long “casual reading time” in one of the classes this morning – a full 8 minutes – and it was a fulfilling few moments. The extended time gave the readers a chance to sink in to their books, to really get wrapped up in the reading. As I watched them now and then, it was easy to see that feelings of quiet satisfaction were in the air.
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During casual reading time, I noticed that one boy was holding his book in his lap with his head bent down over it. Then I scanned the rest of the kids and saw that each scholar was using his or her own special posture for reading – some with legs crossed, some pushed back from the table and slumped a bit, some bowed over the books as though they were cautiously scrutinizing the words. Special books, special postures, special kids.
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In the 8th grade classes, the “teacher’s assistant” facilitated the discussions in a gently effective manner. They competently guided the conversations, calling on kids in a confident manner and encouraging everyone to “build” on each other’s comments (our lesson for today). It’s always enlightening for me to realize how proficient these scholars can be with tasks normally reserved for adults.
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In the afternoon, a bright and breezy one, we sat outside on the grass for English class. (I sat in a chair in the comfortable shade while most of the kids enjoyed the sunshine.) At my insistence, we all made a tight circle so we could focus on each others' comments, and I asked the students to be particularly careful to avoid being distracted. As the pleasant air moved around us, we spoke about the story we had finished last night, and the students comments seemed as bright as the sunlight. It was, for sure, a charming way to end the day.
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We had a long “casual reading time” in one of the classes this morning – a full 8 minutes – and it was a fulfilling few moments. The extended time gave the readers a chance to sink in to their books, to really get wrapped up in the reading. As I watched them now and then, it was easy to see that feelings of quiet satisfaction were in the air.
.................
During casual reading time, I noticed that one boy was holding his book in his lap with his head bent down over it. Then I scanned the rest of the kids and saw that each scholar was using his or her own special posture for reading – some with legs crossed, some pushed back from the table and slumped a bit, some bowed over the books as though they were cautiously scrutinizing the words. Special books, special postures, special kids.
............
In the 8th grade classes, the “teacher’s assistant” facilitated the discussions in a gently effective manner. They competently guided the conversations, calling on kids in a confident manner and encouraging everyone to “build” on each other’s comments (our lesson for today). It’s always enlightening for me to realize how proficient these scholars can be with tasks normally reserved for adults.
...................
In the afternoon, a bright and breezy one, we sat outside on the grass for English class. (I sat in a chair in the comfortable shade while most of the kids enjoyed the sunshine.) At my insistence, we all made a tight circle so we could focus on each others' comments, and I asked the students to be particularly careful to avoid being distracted. As the pleasant air moved around us, we spoke about the story we had finished last night, and the students comments seemed as bright as the sunlight. It was, for sure, a charming way to end the day.
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