This is the last year of the single digits for me. After this, I'll be a decade into my profession. I don't feel that I've changed too much, unless I think back to what I was like when I first started at Karl G. Maeser Preparatory Academy. Aside from being more tired (a lot more tired), I now know that I really have grown an immense amount.
This is beyond content knowledge, which I know I have improved upon immensely since I started. It's also beyond pedagogy, which I have likewise improved upon since my first day.
What really has me thinking, though, is how one would step into a Socratic Seminar class and tackle such a thorny course. There's a new teacher in my school (new to the school, not teaching; she has 17 years' experience), and she seems really overwhelmed. I can't say that I blame her.
I think about what I do on my first day, how I got to this "tradition", and whether or not it's effective. I've spent a lot of time considering what I'm doing, going along with what I hope for the course. But every time I try to communicate that, I worry that it turns into empty aphorisms and subjective experiences that don't do anything to help my mentee. How can I prepare her for the physical, emotional, and--in some ways--spiritual drain that comes from teaching this curricula?
I'm not trying to say that my curricula are somehow so much harder/worse than other classes. It simply is hard, part by design, part by nature. And while I feel like there's a lot of personal reputation that sets up what most kids go through--their perceptions are modified by their siblings and peers, and I work hard to undermine their expectations--it's always a bit of a mystery why things work out. The tired adage of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" seems to apply, since I've had worthwhile experiences with every crew going back to before the Obama administration. But...well, I don't know. Wondering why a thing works the way it does is one of my main characteristics. I'm not endlessly curious, but I'm rather curious, and I love considering the way things come together.
But the bell is about to ring. I'm about to start.
This is beyond content knowledge, which I know I have improved upon immensely since I started. It's also beyond pedagogy, which I have likewise improved upon since my first day.
What really has me thinking, though, is how one would step into a Socratic Seminar class and tackle such a thorny course. There's a new teacher in my school (new to the school, not teaching; she has 17 years' experience), and she seems really overwhelmed. I can't say that I blame her.
I think about what I do on my first day, how I got to this "tradition", and whether or not it's effective. I've spent a lot of time considering what I'm doing, going along with what I hope for the course. But every time I try to communicate that, I worry that it turns into empty aphorisms and subjective experiences that don't do anything to help my mentee. How can I prepare her for the physical, emotional, and--in some ways--spiritual drain that comes from teaching this curricula?
I'm not trying to say that my curricula are somehow so much harder/worse than other classes. It simply is hard, part by design, part by nature. And while I feel like there's a lot of personal reputation that sets up what most kids go through--their perceptions are modified by their siblings and peers, and I work hard to undermine their expectations--it's always a bit of a mystery why things work out. The tired adage of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" seems to apply, since I've had worthwhile experiences with every crew going back to before the Obama administration. But...well, I don't know. Wondering why a thing works the way it does is one of my main characteristics. I'm not endlessly curious, but I'm rather curious, and I love considering the way things come together.
But the bell is about to ring. I'm about to start.
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