A New-found Appreciation

I'm currently spending my Saturday afternoon grading 8 huge piles of work. Coming into this, I knew becoming a teacher would be a challenging endeavor, but I think little could have prepared me for the sheer volume of work that this all entails. I can't help but think that joining Teach For America has fast-forwarded my life from being a 21 year-old college student to a boring 35 year old.

Experiencing first-hand all the effort it takes to become a effective teacher has given me a new-found appreciation for the great teachers that I have had.
All along, I had some notion that teachers did a lot for their students, but I had no idea the level of thought and detail that went into each lesson. Last week for example, I taught my students about calculating taxes, tips, and discounts. It's been fun teaching more real-world skills now that we have a foundation set from the first unit. I set up a pretend mall in my room with grocery stores, clothing stores, a restaurant, and a barber shop. That alone took several days to prepare for. And to think that there are teachers that have been putting in all this time and energy year in and year out; I just think that's amazing.

On the flip side, I can't help but think of some of the mediocre teachers I've had. Looking back, I now know with almost 100% certainty that there were some teachers who arrived each day without a lesson plan. They probably just winged their classes. I remember some teachers that literally taught for 5 minutes and then went back to their desk to check their email and the weather. To those teachers, all I can say is "shame on you." You had an opportunity impart your knowledge, and make a positive impact on your students. That opportunity was wasted.

On a more positive note, yesterday my school had an all-school field trip. We went to the Oil Ranch about an hour outside of Houston. The day was spent going on hay rides, mini-golfing, going to a petting zoo etc. The weather has been great lately, reminding me off summers in Seattle. It was fun to get to know my students in a non-academic environment. I think I'm pretty lucky to have the group of students that I have. I would say most are good kids, and I'm excited to see how my relationships with my students will progress over the school year.

Here are a couple students quotes from last week...

Me: "When I was 16, I got my first job, and I was able to earn some commission"
Student: "When was that? The 90s?"

Student as we drive by Chinatown on the way to our field trip: "Can you read that?"
Me: "No, that's actually Chinese. I speak Vietnamese"
Student: "What's the difference? Is Vietnamese just like Chinese, but you were born in America?"

Student: "Mr. Tran, what were you like in middle school?
Me: "What do you mean?"
Student: "Like, were you a tattle-tale, or were you cool?"