I
finally had my “Professor Henry Higgins” moment this week! By George, I really
did it, I did it, I did it! I said I’d make a [student] and indeed I did. While
Henry Higgins, of My Fair Lady, was
dealing with the foul-mouthed, flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, and I had to
contend with the foul-mouthed, egotistical 16 year-old in my 3rd
period class of juniors, the challenge of teaching such hard-headed people
remains an apt parallel in my mind.
At the beginning of the semester, my
student and I were at odds. He didn’t see any reason to follow my instructions,
and I couldn’t fathom how to force him to learn. We had showdowns on a daily
basis, oftentimes resulting in one of us leaving the room to sulk, cry, or
complain. After he refused to take a quiz, I made the decision to tighten the
reins and approach teaching him from a different angle. I constructed a
separate assignment for the belligerent student and kindly explained to him and
his mother that the reading materials contained information pertinent to his
personal goals (of graduating high school and going on to college to become a
football star). The assignment was to connect the content from the articles
(high school football recruits who went from “best to bust”) to the major
themes within the play his class was reading (how “hubris” causes tragedy in Antigone). I was proud of the
assignment, but I had very little hope that it would change his attitude toward
school or me as his teacher.
This week, my student underwent an
Eliza Doolittle-esque transformation. He presented his work to the class,
meeting and exceeding the expectations I had set for him, but the real shock
was seeing how invested he was in the work for the rest of the week. He turned a
corner this week and became a model student. Not only did he take a leadership
role during class discussions, but he finally stopped stealing instructional
time with his disrespectful antics and comments. It was a lover-ly week, t’was!
In addition to this victory, I am
finally getting ready to finish up my student teaching stint. My exit strategy
is in place, the papers are graded, all involved parties are aware, and… I may
have a job lined up. I don’t want to count any chickens just yet, but the
option has been presented, and I am seriously weighing it. For all of my
complaints, I know that beggars can’t be choosers, and the job market isn’t
exactly overflowing with possibilities right now. The question I keep asking
myself is this: Do I believe in the school’s mission? Even though the answer is
a resounding YES, I just can’t seem to reconcile the message of the mission
with the policies the school implements to achieve that mission. It’s all very
confusing.
Clearly, I have some things to
consider. Although I don’t support the school’s current policies, I wonder if I
could affect change from within. If I could affect that change, what level of
support or resistance would I face? Would the flexibility of a private or
charter school weigh more or less than the comparable salary a public school
could offer? Time commitments, travel/distance, demographics, financial and
administrative support, and availability of resources are at the forefront of
my mind, but there is one other factor that might influence my choice. Once
again, it is Professor Henry Higgins’ voice singing, “Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn! I’ve grown accustomed to her face!” reminding me that this school, the staff, and
most of all, the students, have made an impression on me that won’t be easy to
set aside.
No comments:
Post a Comment