Today's challenge: Time for pics of people or things you're grateful for!
I had to do this one. I began by taking pics of my students hard at work.
Where does the gratitude come in? They're working so diligently and collaboratively. Today, in a class that deals with literature, we were supposed to go over a pretty difficult story by Ghassan Kanafani. I was determined to be hands-off today, so I gave them the task of making a brief presentation on an aspect from the story that I assigned them. Their intended audience? A student from a nearby high school.
They took it very seriously. And, it worked! The students pooled their intellectual resources and by the time class was over, they had a sense not just what the story was "about" but ways they could investigate it further and identify some of the socio-political issues Kanafani comments on.
Sometimes it goes well. And when that happens, I am very grateful.
Now, what am I grateful for outside the classroom?
The first image would be of our school staff, Rose, Joel, Norma, and Rachel. They are awesome. We have a fabulous dean who is very passionate about student learning. He supports the faculty as if he were a soldier in battle with us. And the support staff makes the world go 'round. I'm not posting their pics, but here is the corridor leading to the school office!
The rainbow poster is obviously in a very prominent place. I'm happy that we are a GLBT-friendly campus, and that we are working on being even
more accessible than we are.
Finally, I'm grateful for any respite. Our days are so busy, and I remember to take a break every once in a while. My office resides in a square-shaped building. There are offices that line the outside of the building and face the center, where there are three chairs, a couch, a counter, and a microwave. It's so inviting, and you almost always find someone sitting in those chairs. I often eat lunch there and can chat and catch up with my coworkers. It's pretty awesome--not all of our faculty have an area like that, so I gotta remember to use it.
Where does the gratitude come in? They're working so diligently and collaboratively. Today, in a class that deals with literature, we were supposed to go over a pretty difficult story by Ghassan Kanafani. I was determined to be hands-off today, so I gave them the task of making a brief presentation on an aspect from the story that I assigned them. Their intended audience? A student from a nearby high school.
1 comment:
I like the the assignment/challenge you gave your students. Authentic audience. High engagement. I also wrote about our offices! Our English department was web-presence!
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