My visit to Ireland last week occurred during something my school calls "Intersession". Instead of having a Spring Break, we cancel traditional classes for one week in March (between the third and fourth quarters), and every teacher offers an alternative learning opportunity. Every student is required to participate in intercession. The offerings are diverse: working on an inner-city community garden, learning about comedy in American cinema through the decades, self-directed intersession activities, martial arts classes, golf lessons, improvisational acting techniques, local or regional trips (New York, Chicago, etc.) and international trips (Ireland, Rome, Greece, etc.).
This is one of the unique features of the school where I teach, that I mostly enjoy. Like all things, it has its pros and cons, but I think it's more good than bad. We had an excellent trip to Ireland, and the kids learned a lot about navigating another culture; they also learned a lot about the history of Ireland.
Myself and the other Latin teacher offer Latin students a trip to Rome every other year, and it's quite amazing as a teacher to see the places we've learned about in class come alive for our students when they stand in the Colosseum or walk through the streets of Pompeii. There is no substitute for those kinds of experiences.
Intersession also gives teachers a chance to share our interests (outside of class) with students, and to meet them more as equals and get to know them better. Over my four years, I've had some really honest, mature conversations with students while on intersession. The setting opens both of us up to interacting more as two people rather than as student-teacher (a relationship which is fraught with stereo-types and false expectations).
I'm directing our senior retreat next week, so I might be a little quiet on the blog until next Thursday (when we come back). But I have a real treat in store for April (National Poetry Month). Stay tuned!
This is one of the unique features of the school where I teach, that I mostly enjoy. Like all things, it has its pros and cons, but I think it's more good than bad. We had an excellent trip to Ireland, and the kids learned a lot about navigating another culture; they also learned a lot about the history of Ireland.
Myself and the other Latin teacher offer Latin students a trip to Rome every other year, and it's quite amazing as a teacher to see the places we've learned about in class come alive for our students when they stand in the Colosseum or walk through the streets of Pompeii. There is no substitute for those kinds of experiences.
Intersession also gives teachers a chance to share our interests (outside of class) with students, and to meet them more as equals and get to know them better. Over my four years, I've had some really honest, mature conversations with students while on intersession. The setting opens both of us up to interacting more as two people rather than as student-teacher (a relationship which is fraught with stereo-types and false expectations).
I'm directing our senior retreat next week, so I might be a little quiet on the blog until next Thursday (when we come back). But I have a real treat in store for April (National Poetry Month). Stay tuned!
No comments:
Post a Comment