So...I'm officially a teacher. It's weird in some ways: constantly introducing myself as "Ms. Melissa," and just in general being an authority figure with the privilege to tell high schoolers what to do. I'm not going to write much on here about the details of my students because I consider that a breech of their privacy, but I will say that I had a terrific first day, though it was overwhelming. I've decided the teacher must be the master of the multitasking, and I also came to the realization today that I'm in charge of their MINDS, and at a very malleable age...it's daunting and, without getting too dramatic, I feel very responsible. Especially as I try to approach a subject that generally gets a pretty bad rep from high school students. I want them to love physics like I do, and see that they are all capable of it. I sincerely hope that my newness to the field of teaching doesn't negatively affect their future aspirations or perspectives of their own abilities. I want them to understand the value of the renaissance (wo)man. And I do not want them to limit themselves to being just-a-humanities-person or just-a-science-person. I will also say that I am working REALLY hard to be good at this.
Today they did a hodgepodge of lab activities each representing the various topics we're going to cover this year including constructing a thermometer, pinhole camera, compass, electroscope, "black hole," and more, and then each group presenting to their comrades. There was a lot going on in the classroom, but I hope they had fun.
I've also continued to be excited about what I have to learn from these students. There was a wonderful performance hour the other day and two girls sang a beautiful song in Arabic in honor of "lost homelands." They dedicated the song to anyone who was missing home. They had a projector behind them with a ppt flipping through various national flags. When the Palestinian flag came onto the screen, an enormous eruption came from the students. We have a lot of Palestinians at the school. I was struck by the sense of longing in the cheers, as if they were cheering for something beautiful that had been lost. It was the closest I've come to feeling the true loss of these people in terms of Palestine, and I was filled with sadness.
Today they did a hodgepodge of lab activities each representing the various topics we're going to cover this year including constructing a thermometer, pinhole camera, compass, electroscope, "black hole," and more, and then each group presenting to their comrades. There was a lot going on in the classroom, but I hope they had fun.
I've also continued to be excited about what I have to learn from these students. There was a wonderful performance hour the other day and two girls sang a beautiful song in Arabic in honor of "lost homelands." They dedicated the song to anyone who was missing home. They had a projector behind them with a ppt flipping through various national flags. When the Palestinian flag came onto the screen, an enormous eruption came from the students. We have a lot of Palestinians at the school. I was struck by the sense of longing in the cheers, as if they were cheering for something beautiful that had been lost. It was the closest I've come to feeling the true loss of these people in terms of Palestine, and I was filled with sadness.
you can bring tears to my eyes even from thousands of kilometers away. I miss you so much Melissa and I have no doubt that you will inspire so many of your students. Just watch- pretty soon they will all be physics-poets (sculptors too I hope!) haha. The photos look great, when can i come visit?
ReplyDelete