As the school year draws to an end (17 days, but who's counting?), I've been reflecting on my teaching this year. Many things I will ponder well into the summer, but I know with 100 percent certainty today that teaching AP Composition has made me into a better teacher; a way better teacher. Teaching AP Composition has taught me to think.
I so often encounter students who don't want to think. They can, but they don't want to. But really, who can blame them with the world we live in now? Take for example today in class. I asked a student to look up the word "lechery" as we were reading The Crucible. I knew the word, but found value in teaching the students to take the time to look up words they don't know. However, before the student could even get back to the stack of dictionaries, another student had pulled it up on his iPhone and was reading off the definition. Husband Joe's right: "it's an on demand world, baby."
Don't get me wrong. I fully appreciate the on demand world. Laptops, cell phones, radio, etc. I have them all. But I've really appreciated the opportunity to think this year. Seems silly, right? To say that I'm thankful to have to think at my job? In the past I've envied people whose jobs don't require them to think past their cubes. But as I think about this past school year, I realize, especially in this day and age, what a skill it is to be able to think. And I'm glad I have it.
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