End of the (School) Year and Packing
Thomas Merton wrote, “Every moment and every event of every man’s life on earth plants something in his soul.” Those words ring true and this year was a year with an interesting harvest. This week, I wrap up another year. While most of the world uses January as the beginning of the year, I use the end of August. Around here, the academic calendar is our master calendar. That being said, right about now is our year end. I am just getting ready to post the final grades for my last classes. In this year of meaningful moments, I began a new season of learning. This concluded my first full year of teaching college. While the last several years have been an education of theories and proposed praxis, this year has been an education of the practical with real students and very real situations. This is has been a year where I had to adjust my own learned pedagogy and in many ways adjust to situations that were never covered in graduate school. I am closing this year with some really new and valuable insights.Some of these gems I will list. Others, I will keep to myself. I have gained a new level of confidence with this first year completed, and yet I know next year I will learn even more. I am certain that I work in a field where experience continues to be a thorough educator. Here are a few of the gems I have gathered. I have learned to not be shocked by anything. Teaching is a vocation that is highly relational and extremely confrontational. I cannot expect students to share my values. Yes, I do have to repeat information more to my students than to my seven year old. The attitude of entitlement appears to be a generational issue. No one realizes how long grading takes composition teachers. (30 papers=15 hours minimum) A good department chair makes all the difference. I am blessed in this area.
Now I switch gears. Currently, Kaitlyn and I are packing for England. It has been a “bucket list” goal of mine for over 20 years. It is also a reward for my girl who completed four years of the Great Books program, as well as auditing a graduate level seminar on Jane Austen. Our trip will be a very literary look at England. To say we are excited, would be an understatement. I also look forward to being with just Kaitlyn for nine days. She enters her senior year in the fall and I am well aware of just how quickly next year will pass. So we are getting ready to embark on a chance to visit some grand museums and beautiful castles and cathedrals. We also plan to attend a couple of plays by the Royal Shakespeare company and, of course, spend some time in Oxford where C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien penned some of my favorite books. I am grateful for a couple of gifts I received prior to my trip. My dear friend gave me with a beautiful leather journal, embossed with words from Hamlet. I cannot wait to document our journey with this gorgeous gift. In addition, a couple of my very thoughtful friends have gifted me with warm hats for the journey. While it has been a few weeks since I shaved my head for Emma Kait, London will be cool and my head is not used to having so little covering:) I am so thankful for thoughtful friends!
