Back to school

Ok, so you're going to think I'm crazy.

But then again, you think that about me relatively often if you are a regular follower of this blog. I'm ok with that.

Anyway, here it is:

I miss school.

Not the teaching part. And don't worry, just because my students are currently whining about going through Shakespeare and suffering from major cases of extremely contagious Senioritis does not mean that I hate teaching. Fact: I still love teaching.

No, what I miss is actually being a student.

No, no, no, OK, seriously, hear me out.

Come on, stay with me (See? I told you you'd think I was crazy!) just let me explain.

Tonight at youth group an amazing man came and taught us how to look at the book of Revelation through the filter of the book of Daniel. He went about a million miles per hour, was crazy enthusiastic, and brought handouts and a PowerPoint to go with it.

I was in love.

Seriously. I loved being a student. And tonight I was sitting there on the edge of the pew, pencil poised to catch every tidbit I could while I flipped furiously through my Bible trying to keep up with him.

Now, granted, in high school it was a little hit and miss. Trust me, I did not sit in math or history like that. In math I was too busy trying to make my notes look fun and interesting, and in history I was too busy either doodling in my notebook or wondering what my teacher had had for breakfast because pieces of it were still stuck in his beard and on his collar (true story).

And, if I'm honest, I didn't quite sit like that in English all the time. Except when we did a few novels that I really loved. Or poetry. I was always attentive for that.

But man, oh man. College was a different story. With the major exceptions of anything math-related, Psychology, or Linguistics, I was totally different.

Writing About Film was a revelation. I thought I understood films and how to read them. That class totally opened my eyes. I devoured every film clip we watched in class and then went home, rented the films on Netflix, and went over it again. I watched films over and over again, looking at the use of framing, cuts, color, pacing, angles, music, and symbols. This class gave me a greater love for Altman and more disdain for Scorsese and his overdone symbolism. We get it, he's a Christ-figure, does he really have to die in the crucifix position in slow motion?

Introduction to Logic was such an incredible class that I voluntarily took the Advanced Logic class. I convinced other friends to take it. I learned how to use people's words like math equations. It made me a better arguer, helped me understand syntax and how essential it is to meaning, and grounded me in reality. Not the depressing kind of realism. Just, well, real realism.

Anthropology was fascinating. Even though my father says that it's not a real science I still found it engrossing. Why do people operate the way they do? Why do we congregate? How do other cultures work? What makes them separate from us and what makes us similar? I found that I loved the differences and the nuances in each culture. And I also found that those differences make other cultures (And culture-groups within America) more precious. I love cultural differences and I'm not afraid to admit it.

And all my English classes. It's safe to assume that I love books. It's also safe to assume that I love analyzing literature; therefore, my English classes in college were great. Mostly. There were two with whats-her-name who shall never be mentioned again (she gave me a C once), but otherwise, they were great!

Ah, I miss it.

Oh, but not my education classes.

Sorry to all of you who are future educators, but wow. Those classes. If anything ever felt like a bigger waste of money . . . man. I learned more in my semester of Student Teaching than I did in the previous three full of classes about Diversity, Methods, and Management.

But hey. You gotta do what you gotta do.

And without them, I wouldn't be here.

So, it's all good.

A Lot of Work to Do . . .

Tonight I spent a good portion of time searching the massive and confusing internet for some reading suggestions for my classes next year. In case you didn't know, I will be teaching 8th grade, 10th grade, 12th grade, and speech/forensics. And when I say I'll be teaching these grades, I don't mean that I'll be teaching with another teacher. I will have ALL of the 8th graders. I will have ALL of the 10th graders. And, you guessed it, I will have ALL of the seniors.

This affords me a lot of freedom in my choice of literature, aside from using the textbook of course, but it also gives me a little bit of a panic attack. I mean, I could do ANYTHING with them! So much freedom! So much control! And SO much good literature to choose from!

I also wonder to myself how much I can "get away" with in this new town. I can't wait to get an idea of what other teachers have done there, for, knowing me, I'd want to push my students through some more difficult and multicultural literature. I love things that deal with race, religion, disability, age, and hot-button topics. Hopefully my administrators will love choices like that, too.

Here are some of my choices for my eighth graders. I have always loved The Giver. It is such a great book and I know that kids can get a lot out of it. Along with The Giver, I also read Night in 8th grade. It started my interest in all things Holocaust-related, and I really enjoyed it. This might be a little difficult for 8th graders, but I bet I could get them through it. The book Island of the Blue Dolphins was something I read on my own in my middle school years and I really loved it. The story, the vocabulary, everything was so new to me. As for the first picture up there, I only read The Hunger Games this year because it's so new, but I could not put it down. If I could get my students through it (it's really long!) I just know we'd have a good time.

The selections for my sophomores, as expected, are the most difficult. There are some books that I know all sophomores should read, so, instead, I've posted here the books I dream about going through with 10th graders. The Joy Luck Club is rich in culture and would present a good challenge for my 10th graders, but if World Literature is in a different year, I might have to forgo this one. The Awakening is one of those works that contains difficult subject matter, but if I could take my students through it, the depth of conversation and the life topics we could cover would be so exciting. Flowers for Algernon is a book that I read a few years ago because I knew it was one of those classics that everyone should read. Loved it. And it would be very accessible and exciting for my students. I have always been grateful to my 8th grade English teacher for making us read Alas, Babylon. This books has always stuck with me and floats around in my head quite often. I could do this with either 8th grade or 10th grade.

Now for my senior literature. This is probably the most challenging category because the senior year in most high schools varies because of all the different options available. Since I'll have only one option, I'm going to try to format it like an AP Literature/IB World Literature course. This means some difficult and very GOOD literature. The Twilight Years, like Alas, Babylon, has stuck with me ever since I read it in my junior IB course. I found it heartbreaking, touching, and very diverse (it deals with multiple levels of culture, age, and disability). The only book on this post that I have not read yet (although, trust me, there are more than I'd like to admit on my master list in front of me) is Camus's The Stranger. It's one of those that I think would really challenge me personally and as a teacher. I'm going to try to read it this summer. Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies was introduced to me in college and I loved every word of it. It includes so much detail about Indian culture and heritage, and because it's actually a collection of short stories, I could do excerpts from it, if needed. 1984, a staple in almost every senior English course, is on my list as well. I liked the way I saw another teacher do it once, so I might try that.

It was fun coming up with these things tonight, so I'm looking forward to re-reading, analyzing, and planning. It might sound dull to some of you, but I'm excited for it!