What I want to teach this year

A wise principal once told her faculty, "Be sure you know now the big things you want them to really know at the end of the year." Now, of course there are much more sophisticated words for this, (essential questions, key concepts, etc.,) but when I start to feel overwhelmed looking at the list of standards, or considering the additions to the crowded list of authors and works, I think about that principal and the beautiful school she created using the simple concepts of trust, respect, and excellence, and I trim the list of what I'd like to impart. So here's my rough draft.

I want my students to:

• appreciate literature in a personal way, to engage and connect with texts in a way that honors their own interpretation.
• feel comfortable with the conventions of academic discourse, from questions of style to basic rules of the MLA, APA, etc. but also be able to write for a variety of readers.
  
• to write with fluency and eagerness, to feel the pressure of having something to say and a desire to say it in writing both clearly and beautifully.
• to develop and enjoy our innate love of language--I'd put this one first, because it's why I do what I do, but I'd rather it be my strong finish.

All the blah, blah, blah I have on my "Course Information" sheet like preparing them for the IB program and beyond, and increasing their competency in reading, writing, speaking and listening are true, but written for a parental audience. I might share this list in class and on Blackboard, but it's mostly for me.

What I taught last year

I'm in the middle of preparing for new students and a new year, but two student comments from last year keep surfacing in my mind. I don't know if I can top these two, especially since I won't have any standard English classes this year. When asked what they had learned in my class, one young man said, "I learned the world is much bigger than I ever knew before." This is the result of viewing and discussing MSNBC Week in Pictures, a Friday habit I can't seem to break. The other comment feeds my soul: "I learned reading is a hobby, not a chore." I don't know if I can improve on that, especially with the "Pre-IB" students, but I'm out to try. Tomorrow I'll meet a few of my students because of orientation. It's not too well attended since my students are sophomores, hence much too cool for this optional exercise. Over-achievers and those with hovering parents will be present. Ready or not--wow--look at that, I'm ready!

Stick me, please!

Today I bared my ass to two strange men and am already grateful. Of course, the men were properly trained and licensed, one by the AMA. Dr. Ash inserted a series of needles into the dura of my spine at L4 and L5 to inject a solution of steroid, anesthetic and saline. The goal is relief from the pain in my back and leg I've been living with in varying degrees for a long, long, time, the last six weeks being the most severe. It's been a strange summer. I've been on pain pills and managing my symptoms with some success, but I've hit a new level of inactivity to do it. And the pills (Vicodin) make me feel so odd, a wave of euphoria and floatiness and then a strange flat blankness. Once I remember thinking "This is what it's like to be really stupid." Then I found myself contemplating my own death and how folks would fare without me. Not my standard subjects at all. I miss my self when I'm on pain pills. I'm optimistic that these injections will truly bring a cure--two more sets, two weeks apart. The next step--many steps, many little steps-- is to get moving again. So little time before the lovely treadmill that is school cranks up again. Ready for the fun, fellow teachers out there? I'm more prepared than this time last year, but as the summer's been truly off time, I have much to do.