Empowerment

Out of all the stories, the single part of this chapter that stood out to me was the opening line of the introduction to the chapter. It said: "In the end, the sole purpose of teaching is to empower students to learn and excel on their own." As a health teacher, this is my goal as well. I remember from my own time in high school that I rarely (I can't actually remember a single time but I don't like the work never) saw a connection between what I was learning and the relevance to my life. I want my health students to not only understand how to be healthy right now but also to learn skills to remain healthy for the rest of their lives. I don't want students to think health class is a joke or a waste of time (right now I believe that is the general idea). I want each student to share my view of the importance of health and I want them to take this belief out into the real world.

Rejuvenation

I am excited that this chapter of Teaching Hope is full of upbeat, inspiring stories. I was not disappointed with previous chapters because I only want to hear happy stories about teaching where nothing goes wrong. I just want to hear stories told with optimism. The stories in this chapter featured situations where things didn't go right but it was not the end of the world. One teacher talked about having a class that never behaved for subs. She walked into school dreading the note she'd inevitably find about her class's terrible behavior. She also found a positive note about the thoughtfulness of her students when they invited a special ed. student to play basketball with them. Instead on focusing on the negative, she instead rewarded their kindness. I think that being positive will get anyone a lot farther in work/school life. I believe that this chapter could also be called "attitude" because each teacher demonstrates a positive attitude and a willingness to manifest this in the classroom. Teachers in this chapter encouraged, motivated, listened, cared for, tried, fund-raised, planned trips, and understood. And I think these teachers are a heck of a lot more inspirational and admirable than the teachers who wrote about classes that they could not manage and students they lost. This is negativity.

Dillusionment

Is this book supposed to make me hate teaching? Is it's goal to make me believe that I will never succeed in all aspects of life? Am I never going to get married or have a family? Will I even find a job???

Maybe I need to give up reading this book. I don't think that I have received one positive lesson from this book. If teaching/students/administrators/family life is as bad as many of these teachers make it out to be, maybe I need to change my major and do something safe. Something with job security. I am worried enough as it is not being able to find a job and these excerpts don't exactly help me feel less stressed. The overall themes of this chapter included failure as a teacher, a person, and a parent. The prevalence of ineffective coworkers, injustice, and racism. The stupidity of standardized tests. And the difficulty of teaching students with a terrible home life. Is that what I want for my life? I hope that teaching is a lot less negative than this book makes it out to be or else I am doomed to die an early death.

Engagement

This section really focused on the struggle and importance of getting students to open up. I think that having an understanding of student's backround and life outside of school is important because it can explain why a student acts the way he or she does. On page 110. a student tells her teacher that she feels safe in his classroom. She can tell that he cares about what she has to say, so she can let her guard down and apply herself in the class. It is important to create an open and safe environment where students can come with problems. In story 54, a teacher has to deal with a student who has strong feelings about African Americans. She handles it seriously but respectfully. She does not belittle the student but lets him know that he was wrong. Maintaining a respectful attitude toward students is important because it helps them feel safe. In story 48, the teacher learns about a particular student through her journal. I believe that journals are a great way to get students to open up, especially those that are less talkative. This way, teachers can find out what interests that student and what makes he/she tick and this can help them teach.

Challenges

At first, I thought that I can't relate to these stories because many of them are about gang violence and I don't plan on teaching in an area like that. But then I thought back on my experience at Mount Blue High School and realized that if one of my students came out and told me that he gets beaten at home or if a girl confided in me that she was pregnant, I would not be the least bit surprised. The question I still have is how to handle it. One teacher was too afraid to open up to a student out of fear of being unprofessional. Another one was completely open about his alcoholism and her childhood in the projects or an unintended pregnancy. What is the balance of professionalism and helping the students? Because I believe that having a teacher or trusted adult that a student with a crisis can relate to is very valuable. While I didn't grow up in the projects and I've never been the victim of gang violence, I know what it is like to grow up in a split household and to be a latch key kid and I know what it is like to have a parent struggle with depression. Maybe someday I will be able to relate to a student who is struggling with divorce like I did in high school.

Anticipation

I put myself in the shoes of the authors when reading the stories about first day nerves and excitement. To this day I still get nervous on the first day of school, mostly due to a fear of the unknown. I feel that this day must be even more nerve-wracking for teachers than students. The first day of class is a first impression. Kids will either leave feeling excited for what is in store for the year or dreading the semester. That is a lot of pressure!

It is interesting to read about diversity in schools because I have grown up in a place where most people are white middle class Americans. I haven’t witnessed firsthand someone get beat up based on religion or the color of his or her skin. A friend of mine did her student teaching only twenty minutes away in Portland and had eight kids in her class named Muhammad.

The story that I could most relate to was the story when a teacher inadvertently became a sex education teacher. Answering the questions that the students asked of her was way out of the teacher’s comfort zone, but she was able to determine that this was valuable knowledge for the students. She was able to put her own discomfort aside and be open with the students with a subject that was important. I have struggled with saying words I previously had thought were inappropriate to say in school when I was working at Mt. Blue high school for practicum. I definitely had to leave my comfort zone for classes such as the reproductive systems and contraceptives, but it definitely was a valuable experience.