Teaching through Knowing

One more week until the end of school...
I'd just said I wouldn't do this job as a volunteer, but I would see a couple of the students.
I was wondering if I could see kids over the summer... Is that even legal (since they're minors and I'm a school employee)?

The student who handwrites the bears' names for me, for instance, asked me if we could take the light rail together. (One of his loves.)
I said he'd have to ask his mom.
And another, the one who wants to draw comics, could use some guidance in that direction. Could I go to a museum with him or something?
I must look into this.

(Geez, I feel like setting up individualized summer programs for some of the students who would love the engagement. Others wouldn't (or, I wouldn't). I realize this could get very tricky, getting emotionally, personally involved....)

Meanwhile, I wonder how I could help the English teacher in the last week. One student actually complained that the class hadn't READ enough!
And it's true--the teacher shows a lot of videos, even of books being read aloud on screen--and there's a lot of in-class writing (which is good)-- but the students do very little actual reading.

I might suggest to the teacher that we read a short story (or two) next week. The one I remember best from high school--and looking it up, I see people still recommend it--is Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery".
 
That class, which I dreaded every day at first, has turned out to be the best--because the students are "level 2--intermediate support needs", which means they can do a lot on their own, and the teacher has let me do my own thing with them. I've gotten to know a lot of them.

Yesterday was a work day--the students were supposed to be catching up on missed work, while the teacher sat in the corner and graded.
I was wearing ochre jeans with a green top, and one of the girls said, "Your outfit reminds me of someone... Who is it?"

Other students called out, "Stand up, we can't see."
I stood up, and another girl called out, "Shaggy!" and others said "Yeah!"
A character from Scooby Do (here)!

I am not always prepared for what comes at me.
The other day while the teacher was out of the room (she pops out a lot), a student asked me if I was LGBTQ.

I was totally caught off guard and wasn't sure what to say.
I mean--it's complicated.
So I said I'd been single for 20 years, and I liked being that way, so I was an ally, but it didn't really apply.

And they said, "Oh, you're asexual!"
And I said, "Kinda." (Yeah, kinda?)

Geez. I guess it wasn't a bad answer...
And anyway, I remembered the most important thing--to let THEM talk--and I asked the student how she identified.
She said, "I'm bi," which seems to be a normal thing for young people?
I said, "cool".
And another girl said she'd never had a boyfriend, and I reassured her that is normal for a freshman. (Geez again.)

A coworker said you should never let students ask you personal questions, but I don't agree. They're not exactly personal--I mean, I don't think it's primarily about me--they want to learn about themselves, and isn't the life of other people--adults--a good way to learn?
Especially because some students aren't getting much parental guidance.

I don't know...! This is all new to me, but that's what I wanted in high school--honest engagement--and if students ask me something, I will answer in some kind of way, not shut them down.
That could include saying I don't want to talk about it--but explaining WHY.

This all led to the students telling me that a couple of the girls in class are dating each other.
"Is that a secret?" I said, frowning, wondering if they were outing their classmates.
But this is not my high school days--- one of the girls involved said no, it wasn't a secret.

So again I said, "Cool!" And added, "You two are both such neat people, and so creative!"
(They are both super creative IN THEIR OWN TIME. I was shocked that one of them is getting a D in class, because I read the stories she writes on her Tumblr and they're terrific!)

I really don't know....
These are such young humans! in a crazy world! And they're supposed to sit quietly and watch videos in class...?
It doesn't seem ideal.
We could be talking about life . . . through reading!
Huh. There's an idea, eh?

Let me say again, I don't know.
But I do have some objective successes.

Yesterday the students could work on old assignments to improve. I sat with Mr Comix and encouraged him to do some rework.

He grumbled, and I said, "I'm only pushing you to do this because you need good grades to get into art college. It's worth the effort."

And he said, "I know, I know... It's okay..."
And then, HE DID IT. He rewrote two assignments!
My intuition to get to know the students personally can pay off.