Action #10 / Effective Teachers

I feel really lucky to be back in school. I've been away for fifteen years, and this semester has really brought the pot back to boil, so to speak. The whole atmosphere of ideas, from my peers, my professors, and the subject matter has been a key missing ingredient in my life.

This semester, I've had the opportunity to observe in three different classrooms. One was a seventh grade art class, another was a self contained classroom for emotionally disabled students in the same building. The third was in an alternative high school. The teachers I watched and worked with were all very effective veterans. Each one is a good and positive example for beginners like me.

On the first day observing, one student asked, "what are you doing here?"

I replied of course, that I was a spy, there to steal all of her teacher's best tricks, so that I could take them to my own classes and try them out on other kids.

Really, this isn't far from the truth. As I joked with her, I realized that some of my friends who are currently teaching can also function as a resource for me. I count among them two high school English teachers, a Biology teacher working on her Master's degree, and a special education teacher. A wealth of diverse experience!

I resolved to be more deliberate in drawing each of them out about their professions. Little do they know, but from now on, I will be spying on them too. I'm glad I have a decent trench coat and a fedora. I'm headed out into the cold.