I feel sad for the current generation. Each day, I try my best to teach and to share knowledge. I recognize that even though I am the teacher, I can still learn from the life experiences and thoughts of 13 year olds. I try to remain open-minded. Sometimes, although not often, I am surprised by the insightful questions asked by students or the riveting tidbits that they already know.
When I come home from school, after the "work day" is done, I still ponder various aspects of whatever lesson I taught that day. I can't help it. Right now, I am teaching Anne Frank to 8th grade and Lois Lowry's Giver to 7th grade. Empathy for all victims of the Holocaust, as well as victims of other tragic deaths, persist in my mind. I contemplate the society that Lowry poses in Giver. I try to NOT think about topics I have taught during the day, but it just happens---those thoughts circulate in my mind. I guess it shows that I am a "good teacher" or (significantly less self-indulgent) that I simply care about my job.
Sadly, I think that a lot of today's students do not think carefully about issues and topics being posed to them. Case in point---a class reading from today mentioned how women at the concentration camps were not "permitted" to get pregnant. Somehow, babies still were born at these camps; one can assume that women were impregnated from sexual assaults and rapes. I mentioned this fact to my students and one of them commented, "It's not like that bad stuff happened to us. It's ok if we have happy lives."
Kids don't get the point. One can easily say, Oh, some kids just need to grow up and mature, but I think that's a cop-out. 13 years old and without empathy? It's a pretty bleak picture for future generations; at least they'll be able to accessorize their empathy-less selves with Coach purses, Ugg boots, Juicy hoodies, and Abercrombie jeans.
When I come home from school, after the "work day" is done, I still ponder various aspects of whatever lesson I taught that day. I can't help it. Right now, I am teaching Anne Frank to 8th grade and Lois Lowry's Giver to 7th grade. Empathy for all victims of the Holocaust, as well as victims of other tragic deaths, persist in my mind. I contemplate the society that Lowry poses in Giver. I try to NOT think about topics I have taught during the day, but it just happens---those thoughts circulate in my mind. I guess it shows that I am a "good teacher" or (significantly less self-indulgent) that I simply care about my job.
Sadly, I think that a lot of today's students do not think carefully about issues and topics being posed to them. Case in point---a class reading from today mentioned how women at the concentration camps were not "permitted" to get pregnant. Somehow, babies still were born at these camps; one can assume that women were impregnated from sexual assaults and rapes. I mentioned this fact to my students and one of them commented, "It's not like that bad stuff happened to us. It's ok if we have happy lives."
Kids don't get the point. One can easily say, Oh, some kids just need to grow up and mature, but I think that's a cop-out. 13 years old and without empathy? It's a pretty bleak picture for future generations; at least they'll be able to accessorize their empathy-less selves with Coach purses, Ugg boots, Juicy hoodies, and Abercrombie jeans.
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