Journal 3

Four day weeks mess with me, but I'm glad to have this week scoot by quickly. On the other hand, this will be the last full week I teach the English III classes for a while, so that is kind of sad for me. I suppose I will survive. The highlight of me week so far has been going to the livestock show last night. Not only did I get to spend some time with my bff, some other colleagues I like, several former students, and many community members of various ages, but it was also my first experience at a hog show so it was quite the educational night.

Some of you are having trouble with the reflective aspect of the journal entries (the "so what" part of the what/so what set up), so this is my overt example. My "what" was above --> I went to the hog show. Here is my "so what" (the implications of/reflections on going to the hog show):

It is important for teachers to reach out to and participate with other groups, classes, and activities that don't necessarily involve (or in some cases even interest them). In college I had a few professors emphasize that as a teacher you should attend sporting events, but the advice stopped at that. While I agree that attending ball games is a good thing for teachers, I've attended lots of games and have seen little result from it. Student athletes or their parents might notice and appreciate your presence, but many don't seem to notice (although more probably do than I perceive). It is easy to get lost in a crowd at a sporting event. It is hard to get lost in the crowd at the hog show. I've noticed over the past few years of being regularly involved in ag classes and FFA activities particularly (although I'm a fan of other organizations as well), the kids who are involved in that program are better students for me. Part of that is changes in them (i.e., it seems like they try harder to do well in class or have a more positive attitude), but part of that is probably also me. As I come to know better students through their co-curricular activities, I can better be their instructor. And there is another bonus: the teachers involved with said activities increasingly have become active in mine. Building sets. Judging speech contests. Chaperoning activities. In the words of Martha Stewart, "It's a good thing."