Wow! I have to say the current group of seniors in my ELA 12B class are easy to work with. They stay on task, are focused, and seem to have a drive to improve themselves. This is key when it comes to this time of their senior year. To many times have I seen student succumb to senioritis and begin to flounder when they should be flourishing. There are many reasons for this - added responsibility, home lives, or developed habits - but I need not go into them much more here.
I have learned a wonderful way to learn with students, especially seniors, is to give the kindness and respect that I expect to receive from others. Simple, I know, but powerful. At one point in my career I was not comfortable with this approach and thought the only way to reach students was to force my will upon them - I was inexperienced, naive really. In my mind, the most important piece to the puzzle to remember is that, whatever we call them, our students are human beings with the same emotions that anybody has. It seems ridiculous to say, but I have found it to be true.
We are just delving into a project on identity and I am excited to see how students respond to the "Where I'm From" poem - their poetry tends to be better than I expect and share tremendous insights. This year I plan on taking the poem one step further by incorporating a video component. We shall see.
I have learned a wonderful way to learn with students, especially seniors, is to give the kindness and respect that I expect to receive from others. Simple, I know, but powerful. At one point in my career I was not comfortable with this approach and thought the only way to reach students was to force my will upon them - I was inexperienced, naive really. In my mind, the most important piece to the puzzle to remember is that, whatever we call them, our students are human beings with the same emotions that anybody has. It seems ridiculous to say, but I have found it to be true.
We are just delving into a project on identity and I am excited to see how students respond to the "Where I'm From" poem - their poetry tends to be better than I expect and share tremendous insights. This year I plan on taking the poem one step further by incorporating a video component. We shall see.