James+Verdi

Genre Reflection #1

It is strange the students a teacher connects with. I talk to every student and each is unique in their own way, but sometimes one student strikes you as different. The student I speak of is named Jacob. Jacob loves to tell jokes such as "Why do you never tell bankers secrets? Because they are all tellers?" Haha lol. If you think that joke was funny, then imagine thousands of jokes all the time and all completely original. I was amazed at the level of intelligence and creativity, but at the same time I was saddened. All this kid wants in life is someone to tell jokes to and someone to give him some attention. Unfortunately, a teacher cannot devote 100% of their time to listening, so Jacob gets upset. He cries in a corner when he is sad and throws tantrums like it is nobodies business. I see Jacob as funny and interesting. Others see him as obnoxious and complacent. I wonder if I could help this kid somehow, or will I realize that not everybody is meant to be saved, either way I look forward to learning together with this kid.

Genre Reflection #2

I don't care. I don't care about homework. I don't care about your class. I don't care about your lesson, this school, or your sass. I don't care about research I don't care about writing your essay I don't care about learning, discussion, or what you say.

Their is a student named Parker who could not care less about school. I know he does not care because when I asked him if he was going to do his homework he said "no, I don't really care about school. I just want to play video games all day." I asked him how he was planning on paying for that alternative lifestyle. He told me that he was planning on doing chores for his parents to make money. He would then spend that money on video games. I was obviously concerned. I made Parker a priority. If nothing else, this kid was going to do my homework and he will learn during my few weeks of teaching. I talk to Parker non-stop and I made sure that he knew what was expected of him. Parker became a student who is genuinely interested in the content. On library research day, he found a lot of information on his topic and did additional research at home. He could not wait to tell me what he found and he was one of the few students who was able to complete the assignment fully and completely. I thought I was only going to reach this kid for a couple of weeks, but I think I got him for a lot longer. I think he does care and when I cared about him, he cared about school. It was awesome!

Genre Reflection #3

I figured out why. Why I spent hours creating lesson plans for an imaginary class I will not ever use. Why I made a 6 page rational for calender that took me days to do. Why I read research on teaching that is dry and sooo boring. The reason why is because I am crazy. Crazy in love with these students. Crazy in love with helping them, teaching them, learning with them, connecting with them. I figured out that I am crazy. I figured out that I am a teacher.