1. I teach in a program at LCC geared to help students in their first quarter of college learn effective study skills and get on course in their attitudes about themselves and about school itself. It's my third year teaching WR 121 in this program and after meeting with my "Fast Lane" students three times, I'm very excited about this new group. Today they nailed aspect after aspect of the film we watched ("Family Tree") and I love the perfect blend in the class's population: Iraq war vets, fresh faces out of high school, men in their early twenties who are just starting school, and older women who are transitioning out of one life into another. Today's class meeting gave me goose bumps.
2. I felt more goose bumps during my night school WR 121 class meeting. This is a class of students I have come to expect when teaching night school. They embody why I volunteer to teach night school. They are mostly older students, some wary of returning to school, but being older students, they have a receptiveness to learning and discussion that I can hardly wait to work with throughout the quarter. I did not want to dismiss them last night at the end of our two hours. I wanted to take a short break and meet for another two hours and listen to more of their insights and ask them more questions about "Family Tree". But, alas, school is set up like a factory and we teachers don't have the luxury of pursuing learning without regard to time. We have to stop when the whistle blows.
3. Just for the hell of it, when I came home during my afternoon break between my day and night classes, I popped a mammoth bowl of popcorn and drank iced glasses of Diet Pepsi from a 2 liter bottle.
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