Watch the news. Read an article. Hear about a new bill like Missouri’s HB 628. Holy schmoly, it’s enough to make any teacher stop in their tracks and think, “What am I even DOING here anymore?” But then something happens. You realize you have some amazing coworkers, some thoughtful administrators, and most of all…. some students who make it all worthwhile. The glass IS half full. What was my glass full of this week?
1.) I watched my 5th graders create a pie chart of expenses after spending over 1 millon dollars stocking a space colony and then listened as they analyzed how they spent as much on “survival needs” as “entertainment.”
2.) I roamed between tables while my sixth graders analyzed JFK’s famous “We choose to go to the moon” speech and when I asked them to sum it up in 20 words or less, they GOT it. “It’s about doing the impossible.” Yeah, that’s right.
3.) I asked my fourth graders what they thought about the class system on the Titanic and listened to them back up their opinions on how unfair it was.
4.) My third graders created a timeline about Balto and discussed what makes a hero ‘a hero.”
Education cannot be about Bills, mandates, or the things we don’t have. I am blessed with kids who come to my classroom excited to learn. Technology for them to explore with. A school that is safe and clean. A glass that is definitely half-full…and sometimes overflowing.
What do YOU love about teaching?
