Teaching Journal

Day 43, Friday, November 07, 2008

Today was another balmy one. There was a gentleness in the air that seemed more like April than November. I taught my classes in shirtsleeves, and enjoyed the soft touch of the air as I walked between buildings. The scholars seemed even more docile than usual, perhaps influenced by the delicate and kind-hearted weather.

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I often think of myself as more of a guide than a teacher. I think of myself as showing the way rather than imparting information. The young scholars who come to my room are traveling long and trying roads as students of writing and reading, and my duty is to point out both pitfalls and possible new directions. They may need advice on which way to go in an essay or a book, and I must stand ready to provide it. Actually, I sometimes think of myself as not so much a guide as a guidebook – a pamphlet they can use to find information or instruction along the way. In this sense, I don’t have to be front-and-center in the classroom. Like a good guidebook, I can remain off to the side, ready to be of assistance when needed.

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I was thinking this morning, before school, how many possibilities there were in the coming hours. I saw that there were literally an infinite number of potential thoughts, events, or situations that could occur during the school day. I realized I was heading into an unknown territory, an unexplored wilderness, a planet, you might say, in a faraway galaxy.

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The 9th graders came to school dressed in formal attire -- dresses, skirts, ties, coats -- because this was the day of their "collaboration presentations". For many weeks they've worked in small groups designing websites related to the literature we've studied, and today they unveiled them in the Board Room. I thoroughly enjoyed their performances. It was quite remarkable, I thought, to see 14-year-olds lecturing about websites containing detailed references to James Baldwin, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Shakespeare, and Emily Dickinson. For the most part, the scholars spoke with a touch of self-esteem and even -- occasionally -- sophistication. They were all nervous and unsure, but what came through was their youthful wisdom and daring.

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