Dreaming Paris

I mentioned in my last post that today was my last day with a really great group of students. The dynamics of the class made it a lot of fun. One of the things that I like most about this course is that it allows the students to get to know each other, and in the case of this class, that was a pretty cool sight to see. I watched students gravitate to one another and to complement each other, where one student was weak, the other was strong and vice versa when they worked in groups or pairs. The gregarious would take the shy under their wings, and they would both shine when they had to present, each offering what they were good at to the project. The final presentation is my own creation. This course follows a pretty straightforward curriculum and includes a lot of material pre-created for you until you get on your feet, but I knew from the beginning that I couldn't go without making the class do some kind of visual presentation, which I have since incorporated in every class since (I've also chucked a lot of material and added my own). I decided to have them pick out 5 things that they learned in class that benefitted them, and to create a visual of them. Then they would have to explain the visual to the class. This gives the students a chance to articulate just exactly what they accomplished in the course. The practical value of this for me as a teacher is that the class ends up getting a great review of the material without me lifting a finger. But it's also very rewarding for me because I find out what the students were thinking when we covered the material, where their thoughts and actions took them because of it. Today I discovered that one of the students had planned to become an elementary school teacher, but because of the many tests, surveys, and discussions we had about what we're really good at and the things we enjoy, he realized that what he really wanted to be was an EMT. Two of my students said they had been C students before taking this class, but because they began to put into practice the techniques they learned on taking notes and reading, but most especially because I stressed to them how much easier studying would be if they took it in small chunks every day, continually reviewing the material, so that by the time the test came, they'd already have the material in their memories so the major study time could be radically cut and they could be more confident going into the tests...deep breath...they were now A students. They also made me laugh, many times over, because most of them were comfortable up there, and comfortable with the audience, and there was some good give and take and some real insight coming from these young people as they looked beyond where they were to where they wanted to be and what they wanted to do. I had one young lady who seemed to be going through a difficult time this semester, and you could tell she was having a hard time caring about school, yet she cared enough to at least want to pass, and when she got up, she admitted that she wasn't very good at critical thinking, that she was a "biased jumper", one of the types of critical thinkers we discussed. She said she didn't think she could change it right now, that's just the way she was, but maybe one day, when she got older, she could change. Hey! The fact that she could be honest with herself, that she actually understood something about her thinking and how it didn't serve her very well, was critical thinking in the early stages, yes?! I watched and listened to these precious, precious people; the young military man who would never have to work because he was injured while serving, earned a purple heart, and was financially supported, but wanted to go to school and learn and be a good role model to his child; the young woman in her 30's, coming back to school while battling cancer; the older woman changing careers midstream; the young man who was in a car accident and suffered brain damage, causing him to have to work so much harder than his peers to keep up, yet having the grit to do it and succeed. It's when I have days like this that I do love teaching. But really, it isn't so much the teaching as it is being allowed to be a part of these people's lives. They let me in. They let their classmates in. And they were truly inspiring today, not just with their words, but with their actions as even the shy ones took their place at the front and confronted their fear of being there. You know what always tugs at my heart? The young men with children. Because this is a class where students have to review their lives, their beliefs, and their desires, I end up reading some pretty personal stuff. They don't have to be quite so personal, and some of them aren't, but some of them are, and it's always very precious to me when these young dads write so tenderly and lovingly about their children and what they want for them. The women do it, too, and it's probably very wrong of me, but I expect that of women, I'm used to it. I'm not so used to hearing such caring from men, even though I know men care as deeply as mothers about their kids. But they usually show it in ways other than tender words. Anyway, I'm going to miss this class, but we took group pictures, so I'll be able to remember them. And they have my number if they ever need anything. Maybe I'll hear from one of them one day when they become successful, not necessarily financially, but in ways that bring them satisfaction and fulfillment.