I did not intend to love them; I did not particularly want to love them. I was never the bright-eyed rookie teacher out to change the world, one student at a time. I thought my job was to do the serious work of scholarship and academia. I was a professional — a high school English teacher. I was Miss Roberts, not your cookie-baking, kid-loving aunt. But against my will and what I thought was my better judgment, I began to discover that I did love my students. At first I thought it was a surprising, pleasant side-effect of hanging out with the same people every week for nine months, but I did not consider it a valuable part of teaching. It seemed too flaky, too silly to even say out loud. The pivot point came after I changed schools, 15 years into my career. I loved my first job at Kellogg High School, my beloved hometown, but for a variety of reasons, in year 16 I made the move to the big city of Boise, 400 miles away. The transition was excruciating. I might as well have been
I like them all! Hmm...what should I resolve?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you like them; I think I do, too. Hmmm, what should you resolve?
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ReplyDeleteOh pooh... I was going to edit my comment because it sounded goofy. Instead ended up deleting it, which is even goofier. I can't even remember what it was I really wanted to say. This is a great list, many apply to me, and I resolve to be more careful when editing comments in future!
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