I am thankful for: the job I have

(I'm behind again, so doing a bit of catch up)

Today I had four hours with a class. They have this once a month, four hours in a row of their "specialty" subject. Since they are working on a project, I used the time to talk to each student individually (except for those who disappeared...) about what they were doing and how far they had come, and I tried to give each one of them encouragement and, for those who needed it, direction or a bit of a kick in the ass because they are behind.

I wasn't sure if I needed to have these four hours but was told by the head of my department that they were necessary, so I weathered all the student complaints (their argument was that since they had a project due, couldn't they just work at home instead of at school, which is a rather good one, but not enough for the department head. In hindsight she was right, the time I spent with each one of them was worth it).

I thought it would take me about an hour and then I would read or do paperwork, but the one-on-one discussions took a lot longer, and I enjoyed each and every one of them. It's amazing how students lose the attitude when they have to talk to you alone, and you get to really see who they are, what interests them and what they are all about. I thought I was able to give useful advice to each of them and really enjoyed each and every discussion. 

We spend so much time dealing with classroom issues, paperwork etc that sometimes we lose track of the kids. At least I do, especially when I'm subbing because I come in the middle of things and have to deal with entire unknown classrooms. And to have the opportunity to talk to them individually is just wonderful. I'm thinking of ways to do this more often and for more classes, but either way, it was a great afternoon and I went home feeling like I had been surrounded by real people instead of hormone-driven ignorant lazy monsters they often look like.