Jan 20, 2009

First day of spring semester classes

I love the first day of classes. I get energized when I meet my new students, discuss expectations, review all the amazing/cool concepts we're going to cover during the semester (like how to achieve paragraph unity or integrate literary criticism in essays - thrilling stuff!). I think I make a good impression, too, since I have lots of little stories and laugh at my own jokes.

It's later, when the red ink begins to flow, that I get significant attitude from Today's Youth (the name Marni, Jonathan & I came up with for surly, entitled teenagers in groups when we saw such a cluster tubing down the river one long ago summer in Minnesota).

But today will be fun and will remind me how much I love teaching English. When I was a junior in High School, sitting in Ms. Braun's class (thank you, Jan, for making us read "Bartleby the Scrivener" even though I may have rolled my eyes and certainly chatted with my friends), I had the thought: I would like to do this too.

I've already shared my epiphany with Ms. Braun, years ago in a St. Cloud grocery store aisle, but I like to remember my good fortune, that I have a vocation - gifted to me when I was 16 years old - not just a job, and that I am stunningly lucky to be able to do something I really love.

4 comments:

Becca said...

I would love to have you for an English teacher, Erin. And I look forward to being an English teacher down the road . . .

Melea said...

The comic at the end made me laugh - it totally reminded me of my high school English teacher! She'd ask us to write a paper on our opinion of _______, and more than once my paper would receive a lower grade because my opinion didn't match hers. :)

Elizabeth said...

I love your thankfulness for your vocation ... inspiring the rest of us to feel more inspiration for our jobs, and less drudgery ...

BrianG said...

I have had to work with a crew of "Today's Youth" each summer pollinating corn and it has really been frustrating. I hate having to cajole, prod, curse, and threaten them to get what could be a fun job done.