Damage Control

As some of you may know, I am in my first year of teaching...junior English...it's pretty amazing...some days are better than others, as I am still creating my "teaching persona"...that is, how I poise myself in the classroom, how I handle tough situations, and how I interact with students. Each day, I grow more and more confident in my abilities and my intellect, which is a big deal for me. I am not a shy person, but it has taken some time to strike the balance between "you can't do that in MY classroom" and "I care deeply for every single one of you as a human being and as my student"...today was a hard day...

Last week, I used a Flobots song as part of a lesson on poetic meter and rhythm, attempting to reach my students who so desperately need extra motivation in school. That day, I received rave reviews from students, with comments like "This was the best class...EVER!" and "We should listen to songs like this more often!"...I was overjoyed that there was finally a breakthrough...but for every action, there is an equal or opposite REaction...and today, I had to do damage control...I received an email from a superior who informed me that a parent alerted them to profane language being used in my classroom. Granted, there were two instances of profanity within the song in question...after reading the email, I was crushed...I had so many thoughts racing and overwhelming my psyche...because of an activity that I created, a student felt uncomfortable in my classroom...it has been my primary goal from Day One to create a comfortable, homey atmosphere in B20, and in 4 minutes and 39 seconds that was destroyed for someone...it has taken me the entire day to fully wrap my mind around the situation...my principal has been understanding and encouraging, which I appreciate more than words can express...I apologized to all of my classes and have promised myself that it will never happen again...sometimes, it is hard to find the middle ground between art and education...hopefully, tomorrow is a better day...

On a lighter note, and as a testament to the hilarity that ensues in my classes everyday...last week, we read and responded to the poetry of Emily Dickinson. For most of the final day, I heard groans and confused yelps...the bright spot came in 6th hour when one of my students said, "This chick is depressing...somebody needs to take her to Florida!!!" I rest my case that 11th graders are infinitely entertaining...in SO many ways....