Joys of the Job

 This is my favorite time of year. I don't know if this was true when I was a kid, but the part of fall when the leaves change color has become my favorite in my adult life. I'm guessing as a California native, fall wasn't my favorite time of year. I probably would have said summer, where my birthday falls, or possibly winter, where Christmas falls.

But living in the Pacific Northwest, and taking students to Outdoor Environmental Education camp 11 times in October, has made fall my favorite season. It's just so beautiful. There is joy to be found in kids stretching themselves beyond that which they thought possible and come out exited and giggly on the other side. I miss OEE week, but fall holds other joys. On dark evenings just before daylight savings makes it darker earlier in the day, a warm home while the weather rages outside comes to mind. But I digress.

Two plus months into the school year, students are more independent. Relationships and routines are established. This is when the magic really begins to happen. Final projects have been assigned and some class periods are work periods - periods where students work and I observe, offer guidance, and get a little grading done.

Final projects that include presentations are the best. Students learn from one another, a bit of class time is pre-planned, social skills are developed for audience and presenters alike, you get to learn a bit about your students as they present, and grading happens as the presentations happen. Also, sometimes you gain evidence that your students have been paying attention to the details of your life and really like you.

I am blessed to be able to teach primarily through hands on activities and reflecting on those hands-on activities. This is the nature of an IB world school. It means student engagement is very rarely low. It requires collaboration and puts kids in situations every day where they have the opportunity to help others and dive deeply into their curiosity. They are learning all the required standards, but more importantly they are becoming better versions of themselves and developing a deep curiosity about the world around them.

Every year, I ask students to write a well-structured paragraph responding to one of four Halloween prompts. Generally, most students choose to write about the "perfect costume for Mrs. Conrow." I got some interesting answers this year: a duck, Cookie Monster, Ursula, Pikachu... Although I didn't take any of their suggestions, I don't think they were disappointed.

One student chose a different prompt. She wrote about "the perfect" Halloween. It was a well-structured paragraph, but it was also a poem. 

This is where the magic happens, people. This is why I do what I do.