I wrote this 25 years ago in response to my own high school education. Wonder what my high school self would think of my current job helping high school teachers learn new techniques to engage their students in the learning process?
Teacher?
You stood there before us
with your white-washed bun,
your wine-wizened eyes,
and forced ideas upon us.
We complied,
(though not of our own free will)
and when the day came
returned your ideas
unused,
unchanged,
unnoticed.
Has it ever occurred to you
that I am who I am
not because of you,
but in spite of you?
Entries (RSS)
September 9th, 2008 at 6:45 am
You were a deep thinker and innovator 25 years ago, and because of her you are who you are today. Sometimes bad examples, teach us who we don’t want to be. Great reflection piece. Still too many “Compiler” teachers out there. Maybe this will open their eyes.
[Reply]
October 1st, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Wow! May I quote you? I am curious as to what prompted you to write this? Was it for a class assignment, or were you just feeling reflective? I doubt anything that I wrote 25 years ago could be found, let alone be as thoughtful.
Thanks for sharing!
Charlene
[Reply]
October 30th, 2008 at 12:12 am
@Charlene
I think I was most prompted out of frustration. It was hard then to sit and listen to the “right way” to interpret a poem or to write a verse when every turn of the literature book brought a new author who was famous for bending the rules. I imagine it is just as hard (or even harder) for students today to learn what’s important from a book that is out of date the minute it hits their hands and to have that learning assessed by how well they answer a set of multiple choice questions.
The tools to transform learning are in our hands. I’m hoping we’ll turn them over to the students and see what they have to teach us.
[Reply]