Learning to teach, teaching to learn

Hello!

I just realized it's been a few days since I last blogged. And then I realized it's cuz I didn't have anything to say in the last few days! lol. miracle of miracles. But I didn't wanna leave you hanging, so I'm just gonna pull something out of my a**. I've got an hour to kill here at school...

Here goes.

Um, I'm really enjoying being at school these days! As I've mentioned before, coming home from holidays is always a little difficult for me. I really have to struggle with the whole "back to the routine" feelings of slight depression. lol. Especially since it meant saying goodbye to my mom and sister-in-law. But into the second week of school now I'm really really having fun! I feel more at home here now than ever. When I walk down the hallways I recognize a lot of the kids and they all actually smile and say hi! I mean, who knows what they do/say once I'm past them but who gives a flying crap? And you know those weird nervous feelings I talked about before? Like how I got really nervous before doing a lesson, even thought once I was actually up there doing it, I'm ok? Well, I don't really get that anymore. I just go up there and do my thing! And I REALLY REALLY enjoy it. Today has been a blast so far. I had one gr. 12 class where I did a powerpoint presentation on Canada, including playing two songs (one by Dala, one by the Matthew Good Band) as examples of Canadian music. The students were really nice, interested, and even asked questions after. Plus they told me my presentation was actually interesting, unlike others they've seen. lol. I told them that making a boring presentation would have bored ME, so why would I do that to myself?! haha. And then I went into another one of my regular gr. 12 classes where I spent about half the class talking about Canada-US relations. That was fun! And the students got quite interested. They kept asking more and more questions. I also did a presentation about Canadian schools with a gr. 10 class yesterday, but they were a little shy when it came to the question period. haha. They were really nice, though.

It's strange, because I've realized that when I go up there and just act like myself the students really seem to enjoy it. I'm actually funny! Like, seriously, people laugh. AND NOT AT ME. (I knew that's what some of you were thinking...jerks...) They genuinely find me humourous. I've discovered that being all stiff and rigid turns people off like crazy. (I don't think I'm capable of being stiff and rigid in front of a class, but I have seen some prime examples. Heck, I want to have a good time teaching! I don't wanna spend the rest of my life with a career as some boring spinster with a rod shoved up her behind...I'm gonna be an oober-cool spinster with a great sense of fashion and an interest in what and WHOM she teaches....at least that's the general goal...) The students really seem to relate to me and I hope it's something I can keep up as the years go by. I hope I don't get all outdated and lose my sense of knowing how to reach them. I mean, obviously I'm there to teach. But learning should not exclude 'fun' and 'interesting'. At least in my opinion. Then again, what do I know? I haven't been teaching for 15 years...Maybe I've got it all wrong. I'll let you know once I know.

Peace out.