As the school year continues, my decision to move to high school continues to make more and more sense. The pieces are starting to fall into place.
My “regular” World History classes are going quite well, and it’s been interesting teaching at a school where the majority of students are genuinely self-motivated. One of the most obvious “quality of life” improvements in high school is not having to constantly provide students with pencils or paper—something I had to do daily at Dale since so many students never brought their own. I did try enforcing a strict “no gum” policy at first, but quickly realized no other teacher was doing the same, so I decided to surrender that battle. Unfortunately, the stereotype of the “jock” remains alive and well, as the most disruptive students often seem to come from the football team—another reminder of why I don’t follow professional sports. And yet, a simple email to their coach seems to scare them all enough into submission.
Even more so, teaching International Baccalaureate students has been life-changing. The level of engagement and independence they bring allows for much greater flexibility in my teaching. Anything I ask them to do, they simply do it without much hesitation. After a lesson on the significance of the Sharpeville Massacre, for instance, I had students participate in a “restorative circle” simulation, each taking on the perspective of someone involved in that tragic event during Apartheid. What would have probably been a trainwreck in a “regular class” was rather interactive and eye-opening. The only real trade-off is the workload—since I’m learning the material for the first time and developing the curriculum as I go, lesson planning has been especially time-consuming. Still, it’ll be much easier next year once I can refine and reuse what I’ve built. The increase in grading is another trade-off, but one that comes naturally with teaching more advanced students.
After years of teaching students on the lower end of the academic spectrum—whether in special education, English learners, or among the truly unmotivated and defiant students—it’s truly rejuvenating to teach students who care and want to learn. I may not be the best teacher in the world, but I’m hopeful I can help them take meaningful steps toward passing their IB exams.
Of course, everything in my life right now feels like it’s being done on “hard mode” as a new parent. Waking up every two to three hours at night for Kai has made things more challenging, though we’re working on establishing better nighttime routines. Each evening, I find myself singing the same rotation of songs to calm him down—Westlife’s Swear It Again, O-Town’s All or Nothing, M2M’s The Day You Went Away, Keane’s Somewhere Only We Know, and David Cook’s cover of Always Be My Baby. He won’t remember any of it, of course, but maybe he’ll be more addicted to those songs in the future. Doubtful.
Since life at home is now on “hard mode” and life at school is now on “easier mode” now that I’ve escaped the trench warfare that is middle school, I’m getting closer to a true life in balance. Maybe Kai will sleep through the night soon.
