Day: May 26, 2009

Some days it’s all worth it…

scm

I don't mean to be self-aggrandizing here, but I need to share a comment that gives me hope.  A student who has not yet earned an A average in my class, nor counts English as his favorite subject, wrote this in his writing portfolio reflective letter:

But that’s one thing that made your class great, it was honestly about learning. Not finished X amount of work to give us the accreditation. I loved going into your class and sitting down to learn. Never once did I say “awww man I gotta go English now?!? Darn.” Not once. I wasn’t too often overly excited but I did enjoy sitting down in a comfy chair and preparing myself for some great learning, what a year.

 I've been teaching for nearly 30 years, but after trying to shift my classroom to a more student-centered approach this year, I have a renewed sense of optimism.
Reaching out to a community of learners through Twitter, blogs, skype, and the PLP allowed me to bring new ideas and experiences to my students; I tried to "be less me and more them" to quote Gary Stager. Oh, it wasn't always successful, and I had many days I wish I could do again. I'm sure some of my other students would share less positive reactions to class.

But tonight I am focusing on this one comment, "it was honestly about the learning."
It's going to keep me going.