I love my students, I just really do.

[blonndee]

I assigned them a journal entry which required them to either watch the SOTU and the Democratic response or to read the transcripts, and to respond in some way. I left the content of their journals up to them.

And man, they did it, and they really put a lot of effort into their work, and they're just such hard-working, wonderful kids. (We're not supposed to call them kids, but I do anyway sometimes, just not to them. Heh.) They're so smart, and so funny, and they really try so hard and almost always mean well. I so wish I could share some of their entries with you guys.

I definitely think this is what I should be doing for the rest of my life, or for as long as possible, anyway.

[crim son]

1. It must make a tremendous difference in your attitude

if your students are hard-working and sincere in their desire to do their best. My STBE husband is a physics professor and he tends to bond with, not the brightest students, but the ones who put effort into their work. Did you see one time where I posted a comment one fellow left on his physics midterm? It said, "I shit you not, Dr. P-, I just guessed and it worked!" We laughed at that one. Young people can be such a pleasure to be around. I hope you continue to enjoy your work because your job is so essential and we all thank you for doing it.

[blonndee]

2. I missed that post

but that's hilarious! They really are, overwhelmingly, great to be around, and I've learned so much just from getting to know them, if only for 16 weeks. Some of them have even become sort of friends and it always makes my day when I'm on campus and I hear "HEY! Ms. XXXX!" Some of them even will come over and talk to me or even hug me. I never imagined I would enjoy getting to work with and get to know 18 and 19-year olds, but it's the very best part of my job.

I often marvel at how bright my students are, but I'm with your SO in that I often also tend to be fond of or bond with those who work exceptionally hard and might not be naturally gifted writers but are willing to do their best anyway. I respect and admire them so much because writing is such an intensely personal thing, and opening yourself up to be "judged" by an instructor can be tough.

[Lyric]

3. Teachers like you are the reason

I miss high school. :loveya:

Just ONCE, I wish my teachers would have given us an assignment like that. My AP Govt. teacher was a Republican member of the county Board of Governers. Needless to say, he didn't exactly invite dissenting opinions. During a "prove-it" essay project, I wrote about how Republican presidents were far worse than Democratic presidents, using a variety of sources as background material. To be fair, he gave me a 98 on the essay, but on the day that the grades came back, he ignored my grade in favor of the rich local-Doctor's daughter girl who wrote an essay about how abortion was a moral evil. Even though I had the highest grade in the class and hers was the 2nd highest, she got all of the public kudos. I was infuriated and embarrassed.

I've never gotten over it. I often wonder if that's the reason I became such a rabid liberal.

[blonndee]

5. Thank you! But I don't teach high school

I teach college freshmen. I really think I would enjoy teaching high-schoolers (I know, it sounds like hell!) EXCEPT that I know that I couldn't stomach the parental and administrative interference. Even at the college level I've had a couple of parental experiences that were, frankly, shocking.

I'm sorry to hear about your teacher. It's so unfair to grade in such a way. My students will sometimes ask me about my inclinations and I never hide them, but I always stress to them that their grade doesn't depend upon whether or not I agree with them but upon the quality of their argument. It's too bad that public secondary schools aren't as "liberal" in this way at least! I'm afraid that I'd be fired after one semester in high school.

[Lyric]

6. AP classes are technically college-level

because we earned college credit for them, if we passed the AP exam.

Keep on doing what you're doing. Your students will be better off for it.

Even the conservative ones will thank you for making them think outside of the box.

[GalleryGod]

9. I've done both ! Take those Kollege Kids every time.

I have sophomores this year !

[wildhorses]

4. thanks for being there

:hug:

[Blue-Jay]

7. Lemme guess....You teach math, right?

[blonndee]

8. HA!!!

Hardly. In fact, my students are often quite amused at my pathetic math skills.