Friday

The dream is over. We lost last night in a close game. We, as a team, are going to get together one more time for dinner. It was a good run.

On the flip side, today is Friday: Gateway to the Weekend. And it is really nice outside, mid-80's with a nice little breeze.

At lunch a colleague and I were talking about how teaching is dehumanizing. The kids, because some of them are very evil, can get to you and because they are with you so much in such close proximity their personalities and habits rub off on you and you have to constantly guard against becoming like them in any way. It's insidious the way it tries to creep into you. Its like spiritual and moral mud. It gets on you. You have to constantly be centered to keep it from affecting you.

Let me clarify, because some may say that the word "dehumanize" is too strong. If people mistreat you long enough while you are trying to help them reach a goal, you will begin to do whatever is necessary to try to help them reach that goal (end justifies means). You will begin to lash out at those who have mistreated you day after day after day while all you were doing was trying to help them. Thus you feel that those who are mistreating you are forcing you to become less "good" than you originally were. But you rationalize that you have to do whatever it takes in order to accomplish your goal (because your goal, in this case education, is very important. And it is). This way the "human kindness" is squeezed out of you and you resort to tactics which take away the humanity of your pupils and thus your own humanity is stripped away in the process.

A wise teacher will remember what is really important, doing right. If you find yourself calling your students names or lashing out at them verablly in order to get them to finish their verbs worksheet stop and think. If I call my students worthless and berate them constantly they work harder and get better FCAT scores, but isn't it more important to discipline justly and righteously in my classroom and maybe have lower scores. If your students don't understand how to live rightly, or at least see justice in their teacher they can get all 100% 's and still be failures.

Again, balance is the key. Discipline consistently, be firm and fair. Treat your students like humans that you want to see succeed at life, not just at a standardized scantron test.

I never check my blog posts throug MS Word though I was contemplating it (nah!). So yes, my spelling and grammar are that good. =p

To my nephew who is checking into a "resort" for a while. I saw Secret of the Nym, and if you build a secret civilization beneath a rosebush after you escape from that place with the help of laboratory rats I want in, Mr. Jonothan Brizbee.

Well, one more class and then I have to go pick up my dog and my wife, do the dishes, pay the mortgage, mow the lawn, get a haircut and the oil changed (not necessarily in that order). And I'd like to get some writing done this weekend as well. Hmmm, so much to do, so little weekend.