CHALK TALK: You are what you teach

My husband loves idioms, cliches, and sage proverbs. As a long time administrator in our district, one of his observations is, “Teachers tend to become like the students they teach.” Sometimes this can be good, humorous, or useful information, but now that I teach high school, I also have to reconcile it with my son’s observation that the main conversations in high school revolve around sleep, hunger, and the social lives of others.

Could it be true? Like some of our students, staring down the end of the semester, I am starting to feel the weight of some things. It is a good time to refocus and look at the things that the students and staff at Palmer High are doing well; things that are noteworthy and that I may want to reflect in my own life..

The best to start is to set aside the challenges of those who.end up capturing so much attention negatively, and instead, celebrate the students who are just fantastic human beings who work hard and spend their time improving their little corners of the world..

Some of these are simple, like the student who regularly asks observant and on-topic questions in a way that makes the discussion fresh and interesting.Or students who come into class for extra help on assignments, work hard, and improve a grade greatly, just by sacrificing some social time in exchange for skills and education.

Let’s hear it for the students at the top of the bell curve and students who willingly volunteer for extra projects; things that take more time than could ever be compensated for with extra credit. I am particularly thankful for one student who wrote a newspaper article independently, and another who spent time editing it. The story was well written, and a cooperative effort between students with minimal adult assistance. They invested hours and were able to be a voice for many of their peers.

There are students who model resilience for us daily. I think of students from military families who have a unique understanding of the issues our nation is facing. I am amazed at the depth of character and the maturity they show as they tell their stories and walk through their daily lives. But, I also respect our students who are not living in traditional family situations because of circumstances completely beyond their control. They come to school. They continue to hope and dream and try to focus at school in spite of the challenges. They do this even when real life seems more important than whatever assignment is due that week.

We have student leaders who get things moving and volunteer with enthusiasm. Recently a group of Palmer High students were given the opportunity to go dig potatoes in a field that was not going to be harvested. They got down in the dirt, laughed, and treated each new clutch of potatoes like unearthed treasure. No one asked to leave early, and several were sure that just a few more minutes were necessary. They even went back on their own until the weather and freezing ground made it clear that the harvest was over. Then they cheerfully spent the hours needed to clean, weigh, sort, and bag the 300 pounds that they harvested and transport them for cold storage until they could donate them to the Thanksgiving basket collections for Alaska Family Services.

Okay, they aren’t students [and my students know that I would deduct points for this off topic section] but can I mention that I am thankful for our custodial crew? They set a trap line of no fewer than twenty traps to catch the mice who were leaving gifts around the entire perimeter of my classroom. They cleaned the rodent “evidence” and came back and checked the traps.. Our building is down 2 mice at least. I’m not quite ready to abandon the last of the traps. But I digress…

Our Japanese program is changing the culture in our school. This year, for the first time, when we had visitors from our sister city in Saroma, I asked if anyone had questions for them and the questions came from our students were asked in Japanese! I see them speaking to each other, to their teachers, and to our Japanese exchange student in Japanese. It is fascinating for me to watch them practice their characters and and vocabulary. They are excited and dedicated, and think like world citizens.

Kids have passions. It is fascinating to see what draws them. For some, it is anime, for others sports or theater or music.. Others are IB diploma candidates who spend an inordinate amount of time on their studies--tis the season for overwhelmed students.I am thankful that so many staff members volunteer or work as advisors and coaches for kids. There is no stipend that could compensate for the amount of time and energy needed for the activities. The men and women who step up for the job, do it out of love for the kids and the activity.

The stories and papers that I read, remind me that we work with incredibly talented and creative students who have their own ideas. I love to read something that a student has written and to be delighted with the original thoughts that I find. Sometimes it is a simple as someone in the room coming up with just the perfect word for a seminar discussion, and having the class reverberate with approval.

Our students have distractions that, as children, we could only read about in science fiction stories, but they manage the incredible amount of information, technology, and the stress of being connected to friends 24 hours a day.Overall, I am thankful for and confident in the generation of young people who will be taking the reins and leading our future.

So, once again I wonder, have I become like the students I teach? Careful reflection shows that it might be a great aspiration. Additionally, the pint of ice cream I just consumed was delicious, and if I go to bed now I can still get almost 7 hours of sleep.

Rebekah Kitchin is an English teacher at Palmer High School.