If you could go back what would you choose???
And from what I've seen so far, these courses are amazing.
This morning I watched as the Yearbook teacher contacted the parents of 3 different students to inform them that their children would be removed from the class due to lack of attendance. The class is no joke, it is a commitment, and the students are expected to create a worthwhile and meaningful product. The teacher has developed the curriculum for the course, formulated IRP's, built lesson plans and has now sold the entire package to other schools. Four years ago, the yearbook was so racy and controversial that it was almost not allowed to be handed out to the students at the end of the year, and the school had two local tv stations waiting outside the school to catch the reaction of the students/staff on the verdict. I practically read the book cover to cover and was amazed at the articles the students put together; these were not articles you would gloss over without a second thought.
Observing Drama class I watched as the student started their own drama game with 4 kids and each kid that arrived at class joined in, until eventually the entire class was playing a massive, enthusiastic, self-taught, warm-up game before the teacher had even stepped in the room! This game had so many rules I had barely even caught on by the end of the game, and was amazed at the fluidity that they adapted and played the game as a group.
Oh ya, and I got Italian pizza from scratch in foods class.... not a bad day.
Do I have a point? I guess at the end of the day I struggle to see how I will ever just teach one or two courses at High School when there is so much more I'm interested in, and so many amazing ways to get engaged with students. I may be a TOC for life just to maintain variety in my life... :)
- International Food Studies
- Yearbook Class
- Photography and Graphic Design
- Woodwork
- Metal Work
- Automotive care
- Drama and Set Production
- Jewelery
- Advanced English/English Essentials/English Lit/Regular English
- Ceramics
- Business Ed
- Drafting
- Plus all the courses we all know about already!
And from what I've seen so far, these courses are amazing.
This morning I watched as the Yearbook teacher contacted the parents of 3 different students to inform them that their children would be removed from the class due to lack of attendance. The class is no joke, it is a commitment, and the students are expected to create a worthwhile and meaningful product. The teacher has developed the curriculum for the course, formulated IRP's, built lesson plans and has now sold the entire package to other schools. Four years ago, the yearbook was so racy and controversial that it was almost not allowed to be handed out to the students at the end of the year, and the school had two local tv stations waiting outside the school to catch the reaction of the students/staff on the verdict. I practically read the book cover to cover and was amazed at the articles the students put together; these were not articles you would gloss over without a second thought.
Observing Drama class I watched as the student started their own drama game with 4 kids and each kid that arrived at class joined in, until eventually the entire class was playing a massive, enthusiastic, self-taught, warm-up game before the teacher had even stepped in the room! This game had so many rules I had barely even caught on by the end of the game, and was amazed at the fluidity that they adapted and played the game as a group.
Oh ya, and I got Italian pizza from scratch in foods class.... not a bad day.
Do I have a point? I guess at the end of the day I struggle to see how I will ever just teach one or two courses at High School when there is so much more I'm interested in, and so many amazing ways to get engaged with students. I may be a TOC for life just to maintain variety in my life... :)
Concurred!
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