Over the last week the sophomores have been writing a narrative essay for my class. Much of the writing has been done in class. I read sections, give suggestions, and remind them to check for the use of “and” with Word’s search option. I try to help them generate ideas for introductions or conclusions without telling them what to write. During down time we talk. This is my first year with them, so I am still a new teacher and they are new students for me. In some ways it has been a good week to learn more about my students as people through the stories they share.
The whole week got me thinking about how hard it is in a typical high school setting to build relationships with students. To see them as more than a student. I see about 100 students in a normal day (some on a TV for distance learning classes). As a coach I get to see some of them in a different environment, but for many students I see them for 46 minutes a day. And in that 46 minutes I have standards to think about, lesson plans to follow, test to prepare for. To be honest, I know that I don’t know many of my students well. I understand it takes time, but maybe that is the problem… there isn’t any left because the bell just rang.
