Today reminded me why I switched to teaching high school. My IB students had a debate on the historiography of the Cold War, and it went surprisingly well. It also doubled as my formal observation for the year, so that box is officially checked.
I split the class into four teams, each with two extroverts and three introverts. Between each debate round, they were allowed to rotate speakers, with the only requirement being that introverts had to speak at least once. I remember hating being forced to talk in high school, but structuring it this way made the experience feel much smoother. I’m hoping that, with time and confidence, they’ll be more willing to jump in naturally.
If I end up staying at Kennedy next year, I’d like to find a way to incorporate debates into every unit, at least in my IB classes. I’m getting pretty tired of lecturing 80% of the time, and I know I need to restructure things so it’s less me and more them.
At the same time, when I got home today, Kai was overtired from not napping. If I had been home an hour earlier, I probably could’ve gotten him down sooner and helped him adjust his wake windows. Such is the dilemma of my life. A year ago, or even many years ago, I would’ve taken the easier route and stayed in high school without much hesitation. But as a parent, I’m realizing more and more that sacrifices aren’t for me anymore — they’re for Kai. To be continued.
