Equanimity, or evenness of mind, is a quality that is valuable in all zones of life. In the English teaching profession, it is invaluable. Though I can hardly claim to have harnessed my rampant mind to achieve complete and constant equanimity, time and experience have certainly helped. (Unless, of course, it is simply what seems like the rapid onset of old age that tends to accompany the end of semester?)
Today marked the middle of the fourteenth week of our sixteen-week semester. It also marked the mass exodus of students from campus, eight teaching days before the exams begin. Of course, the choice is theirs to make ? they are young adults, after all. Stunned as I was to find that nobody in my weakest class had shown up for today?s class, I willed myself not to feel disappointed or hurt. Their actions are not a reflection on their progress, my teaching or my value as a human being.
Or are they?
What could a young adult possibly want to do more than spend two hours in my scintillating company exploring the language in which they will study for a degree next year, the ways they can learn it enjoyably beyond the classroom walls, and most of all revelling in the progress they have made in this near-miraculous three months we have spent together?
Well? they obviously prefer what life beyond the classroom has to offer. Truth be told, most students do. The question is, what can we do to make the classroom an equally tempting contender for their attention. In short, what?s life got that I aint got?
The people have spoken, and they have spoken with their feet. Although this doesn?t justify self-flagellation, it certainly is cause for concern. If formal education is to be meaningful, educators have a responsibility to make our classrooms a destination tantalizing enough to compete with the best life has to offer.
And that is worth our sincere and astute enquiry.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment