Work starts tomorrow. I have had an oddly easy going prep for the beginning of school this year. My room was set up, I prepped all the paperwork for the first week; I even wrote and turned in my first lesson plan five days before it was due. I feel as if perhaps I have lulled myself into a false sense of security. Last year I had the best group of students I have ever had in 18 years of teaching. I fear that they have made me feel the need to be less prepared. Although when I go over what I have done, I really haven’t done anything less than I have done before. In fact it seemed easier this year than in the past. Maybe I’m finally getting the hang of it.
I finished Myers’ “Changing Our Minds” for Bomer’s class. Lots of things to write about from that, but I think it will have to wait. I found it interesting however that when a shift from one form of literacy to another occured it happened in the elite first. It corresponds, I think, to the way we as teachers get blasted for not teaching what we did not know was wanted by society, when we were doing quite well teaching what we were teaching. I have also thought, Each time the state changes the “test” there are dire predictions concerning how poorly the students will do. Yet, amazingly: the students do better than was expected. Perhaps both teachers and students are smarter than we are given credit for.
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