I suppose this is what passes for a good week these days.
Work is weird. I suppose there are a lot of discouraging things inherent in teaching, and I get the impression that I'm far better prepared for them than just about anyone expects me to be. That's not to say that I'm a good teacher (although I tend to think I am). It's more to say that I'm more comfortable with failure than I think people expect me to be.
I've been working with one student on geometry for a few weeks now. This is one of those things they never told me about heading into the job, but it's easily one of the best parts of it. We basically get a 90 minute session to just work through whatever the student needs help on in a specific subject. Nobody told me I would be doing this kind of thing, but it's both the easiest and most rewarding part of what I'm doing these days.
So, I started these subject tutoring sessions with this kid, Nathan, about 3 weeks ago. We've been working on geometry. He seemed to be doing well with it. And then one day I come in and I'm told that he failed his last geometry test. And so I'm told that he can't come in to work on geometry anymore. (I don't understand this policy, but my best guess is that it's an attempt to get people to join their regular math program rather than just doing single subject tutoring).
But in any case, he failed a test. And that meant I could no longer work with him. And when I heard that news, I was a little disappointed, but totally ok with it. Then I made the mistake of mentioning it to my mom.
She was unquestionably more upset by it than I was. She seemed concerned that I would be blamed for it. My dad even came to talk to me about it (and I can say with some confidence that this was at my mom's urging, since he wouldn't have done so on his own). I'm well aware that some people just don't do well on tests, even if they understand concepts in other contexts. Apparently she wasn't so comfortable with that idea.
I think the more you teach, the more you get comfortable with people disappointing you. I think that's one of the best things I learned from Madison. Collectively, my students were brilliant (I almost regret not bragging about them enough). But individually, on a regular basis, people found a way to do things to disappoint me. I got comfortable with that fact.
The same night that Nathan left (and the reason I talked to my mom about it), I got a call asking me to come in and work with a new student, Joel, on pre-calculus. Apparently I'm the only person who works there who's comfortable teaching it.
So I went in, I worked with him, and it seemed to go well. At then end of our session, he started talking about scheduling his next session. And he specifically asked for me. That was nice.
I worked with him on Wednesday. On Thursday I went in and there was a sign on our wall, under where the schedule is usually posted. It said something along the lines of "Congratulations, Joel got a 97% on his pre-calculus test. Nice job, Mike."
There's a whiteboard in the classroom where messages like this usually go. It's a rarity for them to get posted in the staff area. This is the first time I've ever seen one mention a specific teacher.
More than anything else, it strikes me as bordering on desperate. Like they're scared of me leaving. They seem to have been excessively congratulatory to me before, too. I almost get the impression that they feel like they desperately need me. I suppose that's a good thing. I don't really know how to feel about it. They come across as almost scared that I might leave, but I'm not sure why they feel like they need me so much. In any case, I suppose it's best to be needed.
Beyond that, I got a call last night from Josh. I haven;t really talked to him since I left Madison. Even last night, we only talked for something like 2 minutes. He told me one of my old Gustavus professors was looking for my email address to get in touch with me. I sent him an email and got this in response:
I hope all is well with you. Thanks for sending the email address. I got this note in the mail the other day. Steve and I thought that you might possibly be interested.
Chuck
---
Hi there,
I don't know if you will remember me or not, but my name back in 1993 was Karin Anderson. I am teaching physics and chemistry at Wayzata High School this year. I love it. Anyway, the reason I am writing is that I will be having a baby soon (January) and we are looking for a long-term reserve teacher. Do you happen to know of any current students that may be completing student teaching this December that would be interested in a job this spring? I just thought I'd try to help my administrators find a good fit for my fellow colleagues.
"Steve" and "Chuck" are two of my former professors. After Madison it almost seems bizarre to be on a first name basis with any of them. Hell, it seems crazy that anybody even remembers me after a couple years. If I were to guess, there are maybe two professors in Madison who would remember me by name; one I TA-ed with last spring, and one I took two lab classes with. At Gustavus, they actively discuss what I'm doing with my life and think of me when relevant job offers come to them, two years after I've graduated.
There is a reason why I never really felt a connection to Madison like I did to Gustavus.
Ultimately, I think it's just nice to feel wanted again.
I don't think the job at Wayzata will work out for me, since I'm not licensed and all, but I certainly appreciate the consideration.
The other thing I thought I should probably mention is for those of you who keep up with the news and are also aware of my dad's work. If you've been keeping up with news these days I imagine you've heard about what's going on with Denny Hecker. I can't say with any certainty anything more than what's been said in this story. I've gotten a bit of "inside information", I suppose, but it's not much less vague than what's been said here. I can say with some confidence that it's not a big concern to us, regardless of how things turn out for Denny.
It is, however, a little bizarre to read the comments in the Strib from the perspective of someone who benefits from Hecker's business. I have trouble believing it's possible to find anyone who would wish well on Denny himself. He's an unscrupulous businessman and ultimately just doesn't come across as a very likable guy. But I can say with some confidence that it's not Denny or anyone "at the top of the food chain" who's going to suffer as a consequence of whatever happens to him. The people living paycheck-to-paycheck are the ones who are going to take the brunt of anything that happens to him. And that's the real tragedy here. If things get real bad, Denny may lose his business and what's left of his reputation. But in the long term he'd walk away from this relatively unscathed at the expense of a lot of his employees.
I've been working with one student on geometry for a few weeks now. This is one of those things they never told me about heading into the job, but it's easily one of the best parts of it. We basically get a 90 minute session to just work through whatever the student needs help on in a specific subject. Nobody told me I would be doing this kind of thing, but it's both the easiest and most rewarding part of what I'm doing these days.
So, I started these subject tutoring sessions with this kid, Nathan, about 3 weeks ago. We've been working on geometry. He seemed to be doing well with it. And then one day I come in and I'm told that he failed his last geometry test. And so I'm told that he can't come in to work on geometry anymore. (I don't understand this policy, but my best guess is that it's an attempt to get people to join their regular math program rather than just doing single subject tutoring).
But in any case, he failed a test. And that meant I could no longer work with him. And when I heard that news, I was a little disappointed, but totally ok with it. Then I made the mistake of mentioning it to my mom.
She was unquestionably more upset by it than I was. She seemed concerned that I would be blamed for it. My dad even came to talk to me about it (and I can say with some confidence that this was at my mom's urging, since he wouldn't have done so on his own). I'm well aware that some people just don't do well on tests, even if they understand concepts in other contexts. Apparently she wasn't so comfortable with that idea.
I think the more you teach, the more you get comfortable with people disappointing you. I think that's one of the best things I learned from Madison. Collectively, my students were brilliant (I almost regret not bragging about them enough). But individually, on a regular basis, people found a way to do things to disappoint me. I got comfortable with that fact.
The same night that Nathan left (and the reason I talked to my mom about it), I got a call asking me to come in and work with a new student, Joel, on pre-calculus. Apparently I'm the only person who works there who's comfortable teaching it.
So I went in, I worked with him, and it seemed to go well. At then end of our session, he started talking about scheduling his next session. And he specifically asked for me. That was nice.
I worked with him on Wednesday. On Thursday I went in and there was a sign on our wall, under where the schedule is usually posted. It said something along the lines of "Congratulations, Joel got a 97% on his pre-calculus test. Nice job, Mike."
There's a whiteboard in the classroom where messages like this usually go. It's a rarity for them to get posted in the staff area. This is the first time I've ever seen one mention a specific teacher.
More than anything else, it strikes me as bordering on desperate. Like they're scared of me leaving. They seem to have been excessively congratulatory to me before, too. I almost get the impression that they feel like they desperately need me. I suppose that's a good thing. I don't really know how to feel about it. They come across as almost scared that I might leave, but I'm not sure why they feel like they need me so much. In any case, I suppose it's best to be needed.
Beyond that, I got a call last night from Josh. I haven;t really talked to him since I left Madison. Even last night, we only talked for something like 2 minutes. He told me one of my old Gustavus professors was looking for my email address to get in touch with me. I sent him an email and got this in response:
I hope all is well with you. Thanks for sending the email address. I got this note in the mail the other day. Steve and I thought that you might possibly be interested.
Chuck
---
Hi there,
I don't know if you will remember me or not, but my name back in 1993 was Karin Anderson. I am teaching physics and chemistry at Wayzata High School this year. I love it. Anyway, the reason I am writing is that I will be having a baby soon (January) and we are looking for a long-term reserve teacher. Do you happen to know of any current students that may be completing student teaching this December that would be interested in a job this spring? I just thought I'd try to help my administrators find a good fit for my fellow colleagues.
"Steve" and "Chuck" are two of my former professors. After Madison it almost seems bizarre to be on a first name basis with any of them. Hell, it seems crazy that anybody even remembers me after a couple years. If I were to guess, there are maybe two professors in Madison who would remember me by name; one I TA-ed with last spring, and one I took two lab classes with. At Gustavus, they actively discuss what I'm doing with my life and think of me when relevant job offers come to them, two years after I've graduated.
There is a reason why I never really felt a connection to Madison like I did to Gustavus.
Ultimately, I think it's just nice to feel wanted again.
I don't think the job at Wayzata will work out for me, since I'm not licensed and all, but I certainly appreciate the consideration.
The other thing I thought I should probably mention is for those of you who keep up with the news and are also aware of my dad's work. If you've been keeping up with news these days I imagine you've heard about what's going on with Denny Hecker. I can't say with any certainty anything more than what's been said in this story. I've gotten a bit of "inside information", I suppose, but it's not much less vague than what's been said here. I can say with some confidence that it's not a big concern to us, regardless of how things turn out for Denny.
It is, however, a little bizarre to read the comments in the Strib from the perspective of someone who benefits from Hecker's business. I have trouble believing it's possible to find anyone who would wish well on Denny himself. He's an unscrupulous businessman and ultimately just doesn't come across as a very likable guy. But I can say with some confidence that it's not Denny or anyone "at the top of the food chain" who's going to suffer as a consequence of whatever happens to him. The people living paycheck-to-paycheck are the ones who are going to take the brunt of anything that happens to him. And that's the real tragedy here. If things get real bad, Denny may lose his business and what's left of his reputation. But in the long term he'd walk away from this relatively unscathed at the expense of a lot of his employees.
posted by Mike at
3:28 AM
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