Monday, January 03, 2011

BECOMING CURIOUS

As an English teacher, I need to become more organized, more able to begin class on time, more polished in my presentation of lessons, more willing to wander off the topic when world-weariness weighs the kids down, but most of all, I need to become more curious. When I’m teaching a class of teenagers, I should be as curious as an astronomer studying the stars – as ready to be amazed by the verve and wisdom of my students as the astronomer is by the swirling life of the universe. Like the astronomer surely does, I should occasionally stand back in astonishment at what I’m witnessing – young people presenting themselves to each other (and me) with unwrapped hearts and minds. Each of my students is a mystery as measureless and multifaceted as the spreading galaxies, and mercifully, I don’t need a telescope to appreciate them – just my eyes and ears and a heart ready to hold whatever is luckily given it each and every day in English class.

No comments: