The Calling or Teachable Moments With George, Ben & Abe
"They're herrrreeeeeeee.", said the late Heather O'Rourke as Carol Anne Freeling in the early 80's classic Poltergeist. Perhaps more apropos would be the tagline from its crappy successor: "They're bacckkkkkkkk." Yup. The wonderful vacation of reading, blogging, & watching movies (i.e. Heaven) is over. Now it's back to the real world. I have to say, I was not looking forward to going back. I give Maris crap about her sheer laziness (make no mistake, she is), but I could easily be a man of leisure: doing devotions, making breakfast (& lunch) for the kids, working out, reading, blogging, watching movies, maybe a little house & yardwork, more time with the kids; it would be wonderful.
However, that first day when the kids came in and they were excited, and weirdly enough they were (enough to come in the night before to decorate their lockers!), it was contagious. I found myself getting that desire to be a teacher again. This whole summer I've spent reading about the kingdom of God and how subversive Jesus' message was. It's made me wonder how I could really, no REALLY further the kingdom. There were times this past week, when I felt like I was supposed to continue where I was at (of course, I don't have a great deal of choice with Lil Mo Tres on the way, but it was reassuring). Perhaps the kids' enthusiasm was Still Small Voice saying the kingdom can still be grown a littl
e from within around here. Besides, it's not like there weren't some teachable moments along the way:
On Why We Ought to Study (or Not Study) History:
Student 1: "I don't think all of history is a joke. I just don't see why we have learn all the stuff we do. Like, why do we need to know ALL the presidents? I mean, I can understand why we need to know the first president, but all of th...
Student 2: (Interrupting, but absolutely serious) "That was Ben Franklin, right?"
Student 1: (Turning scornfully in chair) "No! It was Abraham Lincoln." Iowa: First In the Nation in Education
Maybe we should consider Seattle or Madison again...
jefe
PS- Every European student I had in my classes knew who George Washington was.
However, that first day when the kids came in and they were excited, and weirdly enough they were (enough to come in the night before to decorate their lockers!), it was contagious. I found myself getting that desire to be a teacher again. This whole summer I've spent reading about the kingdom of God and how subversive Jesus' message was. It's made me wonder how I could really, no REALLY further the kingdom. There were times this past week, when I felt like I was supposed to continue where I was at (of course, I don't have a great deal of choice with Lil Mo Tres on the way, but it was reassuring). Perhaps the kids' enthusiasm was Still Small Voice saying the kingdom can still be grown a littl
e from within around here. Besides, it's not like there weren't some teachable moments along the way:On Why We Ought to Study (or Not Study) History:
Student 1: "I don't think all of history is a joke. I just don't see why we have learn all the stuff we do. Like, why do we need to know ALL the presidents? I mean, I can understand why we need to know the first president, but all of th...
Student 2: (Interrupting, but absolutely serious) "That was Ben Franklin, right?"
Student 1: (Turning scornfully in chair) "No! It was Abraham Lincoln." Iowa: First In the Nation in Education
Maybe we should consider Seattle or Madison again...
jefe
PS- Every European student I had in my classes knew who George Washington was.
posted by jefe at 8/19/2006 10:25:00 AM
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