This post, first written in January 2016 and updated in February 2019, is briefer than Monday’s “Can I Ask You a Question” and visits some of the same themes with a little humor thrown in.
I’ve been teaching since I lined up my childhood friends in chairs or desks in any garage or basement we were allowed to play in and ‘taught’ them the lesson of the day.
Some might say I was ‘bossy’. I prefer the term ‘influential’. I had to start practicing early to hone the skills I would need to manage a classroom of teenagers and convince them that yes, they would write a three-page paper on the use of dashes in Emily Dickinson’s poetry.
Now that is not to say that I became “the boss” in the classroom. I canbe. Iwillbe if I need to be.
I prefer to be the Ellen DeGeneres of the classroom. I like to make students laugh. I like to learn about them.I like to showcase their strengths and celebrate them.That’s my sweet-spot. Kids need a little “Ellen” in their lives. They need…
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