We have many new students this year that have transferred in from other schools. I've noticed a particular distinction for many of them. They really care about their education and they want to please. Because they attend a private school, their parents pay tuition. That's an investment. These students may have transferred because they had to deal with bullying issues. They may be undergoing a shift in their families (i.e. a new parent union, new home or a divorce). I want them to have an easy transition and I don't want them to worry about pleasing me too much. Overall, I want to nurture their fresh start, and that means making them comfortable in an unfamiliar setting. One of my first jobs is to make them understand it's okay to question authority. I really don't mind having it pointed out I made a typo on a document or that the date something is due was changed and then I forgot I changed it. Forgetfulness is a bit of my makeup because I try to do too much, especially the first week. My human flaws are okay to notice as long as they learn how to do it with either #1: humor or #2: respect. This is a teaching moment not covered in textbooks, but so important in human relationships.
We got a lot accomplished this first week. My 5th-8th graders developed their Google email accounts by adding their classmates to their contacts. They learned email etiquette. They learned about passwords and privacy. They created a Google site from a template and tweaked it so that it's theirs. This alone is valuable because Sites makes it necessary to understand the different components and where to find them: navigation, layout, linking, sharing, and adding pages to the navigation menu. When we began writing code for contests, they will understand site layout much better because they've spent some time under the hood of the engine.
We started blogging and learned much about the art of reflection. This is more than a standard technology task--it's a writing task that necessitates outlining their thoughts. There are so many standards addressed from blogging and this is a great opportunity for me to really know how they feel. It also helps me understand how they can improve their writing and I develop my language lessons to meet the weaknesses that are apparent.
Team caption applications were returned all week from students that want to be leaders in technology learning. They love helping. I've promised them a sponsorship when they go to high school: if they are my helpers now, I will write recommendations to organizations when they leave our school or when they apply for a job. I encourage them to enter the field of education. They are my special students for which I have the most fond of memories because they often come back and help tutor my students once they need high school service hours. I love getting to watch them develop their teaching skills and having the opportunity to talk with them from that standpoint.
Has it been a good week? Yes, most definitely. I love my job and it continues to make me grow both as a teacher and as a person. Perfection may not be possible, but progress always is.
