Eight O’ Clock
Silence
creeps into the classroom at eight o’ clock in the morning. Nothing seems to
move but feet dragging into their places and back packs slumped onto the ground.
The eyes are lowered as if there is nothing to see. At about 8:05 feet pick up
and eyes lift away from the floor. Slowly, life is entering these bodies that
fill the class.
Working
on syntax is not the most exciting but, it must be done. After all we are
preparing for the A.P. test, so it really
must be done. Reading and writing is going on all around, silence still lingering
in the air. The first sound that bellows into the room is “Ms. Conway!” I am one of three adults in the class and
they want me to help? WOOHOO! I jump up with excitement and run to the rescue!
The students seem to be drawn to my energy. The key is to try to make them feel
it, like I do… all the time. Asking
questions is really all I do, thanks to my A.V.I.D. experience. Students seem
to like to answer questions rather than being told the answer. They know the
answer, they just have to figure it out. This is where I come in: I try to
teach that learning is not just being taught something, but experiencing it for
yourself, try to see how it impacts you. When I read their writing I am truly amazed.
I tell them, “See how awesome this is! You are
a writer!”
I walk around the room and start reading other
students writing, I ask some questions. Then, I look up from the paper I am
reading and students are sharing their writing and asking their table partners “Do
you get what I mean?” I hear, “Ms. Conway, will you read mine?” There is movement
and noise all around. The bodies that were once so silent are now actual students
engaging in their writing through critical thinking.
Silence
shall be no more, even if it is eight o’ clock in the morning.
Whitney:
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you described the students early in the morning. You nailed it to a tee. The other aspect I enjoyed was you bringing your lesson on syntax into your Genre. Furthermore, I also have been an AVID tutor and liked how you mentioned this in your piece. Your Genre really expressed how AVID is a tool of always asking questions to get students actively engaged to answer the questions. You demonstrated this is your piece. Thank you for sharing your Genre with me.
Pat Strelow
Dear Whitney,
ReplyDeleteI love your description of the students, too! I love your use of language, "dragging," "slumped," "eyes lowered." I love how I can feel the transition of the liveliness, you can feel life creeping right back into them. I can totally see you jumping for excitement at helping these students, your enthusiasm is so vivid! :)Your ending is great, too. Silence shall be no more! Love it! This is wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing it with me. :)
Amber
Withney,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing that story! I can totally relate to that feeling of excitement and second-guessing when you hear a student calling your name for help. I love the fact that your students feed off of your energy at 8am. I love the line, “the key is to try to make them feel like I do, …all the time,” because I can see your students becoming more and more exciting about their own writing with your help and enthusiasm. Again, thank you for sharing this experience!