19th Year and Counting

his will be my 19th year as an educator and as the new school year is about to begin I am excited, nervous, and a little sad about leaving summer vacation behind.

Since I began teaching in 2005, so much has changed in the classroom, the access to technology, learning management systems, online tutoring that occurs in class while the teacher is teaching, the massive exodus from the profession of teaching, unfounded claims that teachers are indoctrinating students...and I could go on.

"Why do you stay?" They ask. "I couldn't do it!" They exclaim.

I stay because I love teaching kids, I do it because I love teaching. It's quite simple for me. I have several former students who are now educators and even former educators. It's a tough road, I have encouraged them to persevere and most have; some have moved on to other professions and that is understandable.

 

I look forward to another exciting year of teacher and student triumphs. I am hopeful for support administration and staff to make sure that the school year is one of learning and a safe space to be creative and grow.

The Teaching Challenge

April-2022

by Paula J. Sanders-Nelson

This has been a challenging year. I truly want what is best for my students, but sometimes feel as if I am set adrift all alone. I do give a lot of challenging work. I am working with young people who will soon be off into the world. Mom or Dad cannot call the college professor and demand you have a second chance. Nor can students put off completing classwork until the end of the semester and try to play "catch up".

I want my students to feel confident walking into an arena-size English 1301 class and understand the reading and writing assignment; how to format an MLA-styled paper. I want them to KNOW what MLA is! I do not want them to feel lost, left out or worse, dumb, because they did not meet the demands my of senior-level class. I dread hearing "they didn't teach us that" on some social media confessional video. I tried. I stood up in front of many who ignored me to watch Tik Tok videos of dogs on skateboards or the latest dance challenge. Only to forcibly charge me with leaving them out of the loop when it's down to the wire and the assignment is due and they absolutely have no clue what they are supposed to do or where to find it.

This has truly been a challenging year, but out of the hardships, I have observed first and second-generation future college students rise to the challenge and sometimes going above and beyond with their assignments. They actually enjoyed the work, learned from the articles and the stories, and demonstrated this in their on-time submissions. They were not kissing up to me, they were simply following instructions and getting the job done. No, they were not all straight "A" students, but they are the ones who will excel post-secondary, whether it be academically or in the workplace. They have the work ethic, they are teachable and coachable, and sharp. And I am proud of them because had it not been for these hardworking, ambitious, and entrepreneurial students, I might have just walked away from the job I love the most.

Teaching💗

🎓Hat's off to the hardworking survivors of the class of 2022