Sometime after grades are calculated and my MAT credit is safely stashed on my transcript, I'll share with you what a horrible graduate student I am. I'm not even sure if I'm going to get away with it. And I'm not talking about cheating or anything like that - just aggressive mediocrity combined with minimal effort.
You can also expect a searing indictment of the course, and perhaps about the Towson MAT program in general. But that's probably way too soon. I loved one of my courses this summer, and like the other one. This one, though, is really bad. Not only is the subject matter and readings a disappointment (and, frankly, a waste of money), but I don't like that there are only two high school teachers, and that the discussions all lean towards the primary grades. Ugh! Give me something I can use! It's unbelievable that I'm paying over $1000 to take this course so I can retain my certification. No wonder I can't buy a fucking house or pay off my summer credit cards.
To top it off, it was a terrible day in school today. Ninth period just whined, whined, whined, and effectively stole the mantle - at least temporarily - from 3rd period as my least favorite class. It doesn't help that there's (almost) 40 of them. They plan horribly and wonder why it's stressful all at once.
On the plus side, my sophomores are putting together a Transcendentalist High School as part of their final assessment for the Emerson/Thoreau Unit and it's shaping up to be one of the finest assignments/projects this year. One kid is on Academics, on on Extracurriculars, one on Discipline, and one on the Building. It's a lot of fun to walk around and hear their imaginative thoughts on it. My favorite of the day was a girl who made a Referral Slot with the following for the teacher to check-off: "Using Technology", "Complicating Matters", "Wearing what someone else is wearing" and I can't remember the fourth, but it was similarly clever.
Not a total loss. Back to Unit Planning. I'm working my ass off right now.
A meditation on student engagement
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It is our challenge to get students – and their parents and guardians – to
bite from the apple of knowledge so as to savor its sweet, nourishing
offerings...
10 minutes ago
3 comments:
I think my feelings on my "Impact of Computers on Society" class are the same about your course.
I had to take a course all about social studies even though I'm there for Music Ed.
Master's programs. I have to admit I was underwhelmed with mine as well, and I think it depends greatly on the subject matter. Your graduate program--like mine was--is a professional program. It is made to prepare you for your career. Those tend to be boring, but you do occasionally find a gem or 3 among the classes. Your class sounds similar to a couple of classes I had.
Hopefully, you get an elective or two to take that will make the grad experience a bit better.
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