And what do YOU teach?
On the surface, it is a harmless question, the sort you hear at gatherings. People ask to open up conversation. Without thinking, I generally respond that I teach literature to folks who want to become school librarians. And that is entirely true and quite false all in the same breath. You see, I teach PEOPLE, students, grads, teachers, however you wish to identify the people in my courses.
I am reminded of this on a daily basis as these students ask questions and make comments. It is, sometimes, as if I never left the middle school classroom. The emails I receive remind me of so many of my younger students. The uncertainty (am I doing this correctly?), the dismay (I submitted the wrong file!), the frustration (now I have to read the second and third book in the series and I don't have time), and the joy (I discovered some books I missed before) and gratitude (thanks for explaining everything so clearly). I am so fortunate that my job is to teach people and not content alone.
Here is another clarion voice on this topic, too: http://radicalscholarship.wordpress.com/2014/07/08/teaching-students-not-standards-or-programs/
I am reminded of this on a daily basis as these students ask questions and make comments. It is, sometimes, as if I never left the middle school classroom. The emails I receive remind me of so many of my younger students. The uncertainty (am I doing this correctly?), the dismay (I submitted the wrong file!), the frustration (now I have to read the second and third book in the series and I don't have time), and the joy (I discovered some books I missed before) and gratitude (thanks for explaining everything so clearly). I am so fortunate that my job is to teach people and not content alone.
Here is another clarion voice on this topic, too: http://radicalscholarship.wordpress.com/2014/07/08/teaching-students-not-standards-or-programs/