Want coffee?
I have had to scrape my windshield in the mornings, but the kids are wearing their summer apparel. Go figure. I am freezing, and the students seem to be in another place entirely. Not just in the shorts and shorter skirts, but in their class work as well. It is as though they are bored with me.
In order to shake things up a little I have decided that April will be the month of Guest Speakers. I would like to have real people, doing real jobs, come and talk to my juniors. My eleventh graders are in a class that helps prepare them for college. I am hoping that guest speakers will give the kids the extra energy they need to finish the year strong. Right now we are floundering a bit....
Getting people to talk to my kids should be SUPER easy. I know cool and exciting people, doing cool and exciting things!
Not all cool people want to talk to a group of teenagers. Some of it is the common fear of public speaking. Some of it is that high school was not their favorite place to be, so why visit one? Ugh, painful!
Many of the fascinating people I know don't think their story is something any teenager wants to hear. They feel that their path has been too full of struggles, they have faced too much failure, or that they are financially struggling to stay afloat. Why tell kids that?
You tell kids that because it is the truth.
Education is not a magic bullet. It can help, and it can provide a gateway to higher pay. It does not guarantee you a job, and has no hold on happiness or personal fulfillment. It is just an aide.
So, what about the wonderful juniors that are SO ready for summer?
Well, they will get to hear from a number of very cool people doing cool things. I have a research librarian, a cancer researcher, a manager of an upscale clothing store, a software programmer/ ex-game programmer, a homeschooling mom with a degree in Philosophy, and a midwife who have signed on to the task. These people have reaped the benefits of a college education.
There are more cool people out there, who have experienced their own version of success. I want my students to hear from them. I would rather the kids hear from someone that feels a passion for what they do, than from a person with the perfect journey. The kids should hear from the writer that loves what they do, or the artist that creates beauty from discarded fabrics. I wish these people would come visit us too.
I pay guest speakers in coffee.
Posted in DemEd in Real LifeTeaching on Mar 10, 2010 - 11:06 PM
Spring has arrived... if not in weather, in attitude.I have had to scrape my windshield in the mornings, but the kids are wearing their summer apparel. Go figure. I am freezing, and the students seem to be in another place entirely. Not just in the shorts and shorter skirts, but in their class work as well. It is as though they are bored with me.
In order to shake things up a little I have decided that April will be the month of Guest Speakers. I would like to have real people, doing real jobs, come and talk to my juniors. My eleventh graders are in a class that helps prepare them for college. I am hoping that guest speakers will give the kids the extra energy they need to finish the year strong. Right now we are floundering a bit....
Getting people to talk to my kids should be SUPER easy. I know cool and exciting people, doing cool and exciting things!
Not all cool people want to talk to a group of teenagers. Some of it is the common fear of public speaking. Some of it is that high school was not their favorite place to be, so why visit one? Ugh, painful!
Many of the fascinating people I know don't think their story is something any teenager wants to hear. They feel that their path has been too full of struggles, they have faced too much failure, or that they are financially struggling to stay afloat. Why tell kids that?
You tell kids that because it is the truth.
Education is not a magic bullet. It can help, and it can provide a gateway to higher pay. It does not guarantee you a job, and has no hold on happiness or personal fulfillment. It is just an aide.
So, what about the wonderful juniors that are SO ready for summer?
Well, they will get to hear from a number of very cool people doing cool things. I have a research librarian, a cancer researcher, a manager of an upscale clothing store, a software programmer/ ex-game programmer, a homeschooling mom with a degree in Philosophy, and a midwife who have signed on to the task. These people have reaped the benefits of a college education.
There are more cool people out there, who have experienced their own version of success. I want my students to hear from them. I would rather the kids hear from someone that feels a passion for what they do, than from a person with the perfect journey. The kids should hear from the writer that loves what they do, or the artist that creates beauty from discarded fabrics. I wish these people would come visit us too.
I pay guest speakers in coffee.
Tags for this entry:
failure,
speaking
Ammerah Saidi
Mar 17, 2010 - 11:06 PM
And why should a successful education result only in financial stability? There are great learned individuals who struggled because of what they came to know of society and their role as members of it (think Malcolm X or Ghandi). The result of a great education is a development of self and purpose and you said it, passion.