Today

Was a funny day. There are some days where I'm just too busy to listen to what kids say. Today was a day where I am over-tired, which means I'm slap happy, and the kids did a lot of group work, which was nice, so I had a chance to listen to them.

So today one of my kids was trying to tell the other kids in his group what he had written for facts about plate tectonics in relation to the formation of the ocean floor. So, he starts off quickly stating them. Several kids say, "wait, slow down! What was that? " So he slows down and repeats himself. The kids ask him once again to slow down. By the end of this exchange, this poor boy is speaking to the other kids so slowly that he is enunciating each and every single syllable, as if they speak a different language. Meanwhile, I am in hysterics as I listen to this exchange. When he returned back to his desk I asked if he understood what it's like to be a teacher now, and he nodded in a daze.

Later on, the kids worked in pairs as they learned about the various jobs of colonial Virginians. The kids were to pick which job they wanted to learn about, and then read a little book about the job, and then answered 4 questions. At the end of class, another teacher asked the whole class if they felt like experts about their jobs. Many of them said "no". When she asked why they felt that way, one boy responded, "Well, an innkeeper cleans people's shoes, and I am terrible at keeping my shoes clean. So no, I'm no expert."

On a related note, my students this year are very bright, but they are very young for their age. They haven't quite grown of literal understanding of the world and take everything to mean what you say. So, metaphors and similes are an area that I am teaching right now. Just today I read to them the book Owl Moon, which is great for teaching imagery, metaphors and similes. In one part of the book, the snow in the forest is compared to white milk. So I ask the kids if it's really white milk, and they all emphatically say "No! It's a metaphor for snow." Yes, but to be an expert about a job, you must be able to do it well, according to the kids. We're getting there slowly but surely.