Halloween is my absolute favorite time of year. I think it is the culmination of the cooler weather, acceptable gruesome décor, costumes, and, of course, the candy. However, spending this Halloween with my Carson family has really made me reflect on what (in teaching) really scares me.
My teaching style is a haunted house of sorts. When you walk in the door on day one, you’re not sure what is going to jump out and grab you. However, you’re pretty sure from judging by the teacher in all black and high heels that it isn’t going to be good. But as the semester progresses and you get deeper into the haunted house, the lights flicker less and you realize the blood oozing from the wall is really ketchup, and room C210 isn’t all that bad.
I make my room the haunted house it is because I am scared of the students. With my age and being so new, I am scared of crossing a line and becoming too personal with them. Many students might describe me as sterile or hands-off; when in reality, I’m quite the opposite. I do care about them and hate to see them fail. I love when I grade that test and see even if they failed, they increased 20 points from the last assessment. I will always wake a student up and make them stand at my lab table, but I still mentally consider what might be making them sleep. Is it a home life situation or were you really just Snapchatting until 3AM?
At the opening staff meeting, we talked about Capturing Kids Hearts so I have been working and reflecting on making more personal connections. Every Monday I start class with a “good things from the weekend.” I have learned about many of my students’ jobs, or hobbies, or family structures, and it has been nothing short of interesting. I also felt that by going all-out during Spirit Week the students would see my support for them and also see me as something more than that strict teacher with high expectations. (Plus who doesn't love seeing Uncle Sam, Betsy Ross, and Elle Woods tackle physical/earth science?!) Overall, teaching is a lot like a yearlong trick-or-treat. You never know which you are going to get. If you can identify what scares you, you can handle every ghost, ghoul, and goblin that comes to sit in your seats.
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