swan song

This should be no big suprise to anyone who knows me but this is likely the end of the road for teaching for me. I will save the long version for a later post but I am treating this year and my AP Gov class in particular as my swan song in teaching. I am trying to make it the class that I thought teaching would be about when I entered this profession a decade ago, the one that I work, prepare endless number of hours for, and frankly trade a piece of myself everyday to teach.

With that said, an email exchange between friends earlier today about the election made me think about what I hope my kids are getting from me. In her email she detailed feeling like in a particular class she always felt on the defensive as the teacher didn't check her bias at the door.

I do truly hope that I have done my students (1000+ now) right and from my classes they have learned to think for themselves (my opinion isn't relevant is a favorite statement I make), understand why their voice matters in our Government, and most of all that on the most basic level I welcomed them everyday with what I had to give them.

This last statement applies especially to the many sections of freshmen I have taught for whom making class a welcoming respite from the drama of high school seems to be more important than the content being taught.

I love what I do but I need a break from the bureaucracy that comes with it. So in that vein, I am giving this year what I have left in hopes that my original intentions will find an audience.