In Love with Teaching

Today was one of those perfect teaching days. I can't believe that after almost fifteen years, I am still fortunate enough to have them.

This is how it went--

My planning--which is first thing in the morning--was incredibly productive. I caught up on all of my grading, did some reading for class, and even worked on a project for my internship. Needless to say, I was completely ready for my second block College Composition class.

First, let me say that my seniors already have the dreaded illness known as "senioritis." They are consumed with Spring Break plans and Prom, and most have been accepted into colleges and universities. Needless to say, they are a bit full of themselves.

About two weeks ago, I assigned them a rather unpleasant assignment (by their standards)--an argument analysis. To put it briefly--and so I don't bore my friends and family--they had to choose a topic that typically has two opposing views, find two articles that supported each side, read them, and then analyze the differences. Basically, the idea of the assignment was that they choose a topic they are truly interested in. Of course, I expected them to choose the usual topics--abortion, the death penalty, and same sex marriage; therefore, I told them up front that they weren't allowed to choose these (not that I have a problem with any of them--but we had spent an entire week using same sex marriage as a topic for class discussion).

Once the assignment was given and they were aware of all of the specifics, I left them to their work. They've been working steadily for about five days--most of them as quiet as mice. Today they had a draft due, and were scheduled to meet in their Reading/ Writing Groups (basically revision groups for those of you who don't teach writing). I separated them into their groups and gave them the green light to begin sharing their essays with one another. I let them get started and then began circulating around the room, casually stopping by each group and listening to them read their essays aloud.

I was not prepared for what I heard from my students. Their essays were absolutely amazing. The topics they had chosen were poignant and meaningful. I walked around and listened to my students discussing and analyzing topics such as atheism, adoption, bilingual education, doves v. hawks (political groups), vegetarianism, and euthanasia. I gave them no guidance; I merely showed them some databases they could use for help. My students had actually behaved like college students--they had taken care in choosing a topic and more importantly--had taken care in analyzing their articles.

It may not sound like much, but I was so incredibly proud of them. And after reveling in my pride, I then realized that everything I had taught them about the process of writing and revision was actually coming to fruition right in front of me. At the beginning of the year, it felt as though I wouldn't be successful in getting them to grasp the importance of planning, writing and rewriting, and most importantly--revision. These seniors, however, had grasped it.

I rode my teacher-high for the rest of the day, and I think my teacher-high will carry me through the weekend.

I hope I always remember how my students make me feel as long as I'm in the business of education. After almost fifteen years, I really still do love being a teacher.