Things I Love About Teaching

Short lesson outline notes to remind me what I'm doing. I think I'm old-fashioned in that I like to write them out by hand, but doing so really helps me organize everything in my mind!

One nice thing about teaching much less is that when I do teach, I appreciate it SO much more. I taught a grammar/spelling lesson yesterday morning, and I was floating on a cloud of happiness the rest of the day. These are some of the little things that my students do that make me smile:

• Groan about a grammar lesson until I tell them something they didn't know and always wondered about, at which point they become intensely silent and focused. 
• Likewise, groan about a grammar/spelling bee until we actually begin. By the end, they're cheering for their team members, smiling, and laughing. 
• Never give up the fight to persuade me not to assign homework. They're still presenting arguments against the usefulness of homework as I shoo them out the door.
• Send up a mass complaint if I'm erasing the board and leave a spot un-erased. (I get it. That used to bug me as a student too.)
• A student asks if this spelling rule only works in English or if it can be applied to Spanish as well. One snarky student replies, 'Well, this is an English lesson.'
• I write the outline of the lecture on the board so they know how to organize their notes. They copy it down but forget to leave room to actually take notes as I'm teaching. (Oh, children.)

12-year-olds. So moody. So temperamental. But so fun to teach :)