A short list of reasons why I like being a high school English teacher:
**In no particular order
1. Discussions (of literature) often bring to light ideas and concepts that I had never thought about before. I love it when a student says something that has never entered my interpretations of a literary text. Discussions (of current events) are always fun because students get so passionate about hot topics. I think about how I may be in the presence of future lawyers.
2. The gray area of analysis and interpretation.
3. There is so much to cover. I never get bored, and I can always change.
4. Learning about history is a large part of literature.
5. Words.
A short list of reasons why I hate begin a high school English teacher:
**In order from least favorite
1. Grading.
2. Preparing for two standardized tests (reading and writing).
3. There is so much to cover. It can be very overwhelming.
4. Grading.
Funny how some things end up on both lists. :) I feel the same way about my teaching.
ReplyDeleteYou definitely have the right items on your first list! However the second list would have three for me--grading, grading, and more awful grading...ugh. There is nothing better than hearing students discuss literature and make it come alive.
ReplyDeleteLove your lists - and I echo what previous commenters said about how often times the rub is that what we love is also part of what we hate...and of course...grading.
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I do wish (for the students and teachers) that grading could disappear. Discussions show so much more about what the students' have digested from the text.
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