Time flies, and the magic of teaching

As the year has gotten up to speed, I've obviously had a bit more trouble getting in here on a regular basis. It is hard to fathom that we are at the halfway point of the first quarter and I am frantically grading as quickly as possible in order to produce mid-term progress reports. We have a new online grading program this year, and dinosaur that I am, it's a bit of an overwhelming adjustment. Just my two cents, but it seems that with each year I spend more and more time reporting grades and less and less creating interesting lessons and developing new materials. I think that is a sad change in my career. Today I asked my colleagues a question: Is all this grading, reporting, assessing, testing, etc., making us better off than we were in the past? I think we all know the answer to that, and it is no. Yes, I realize some will counter that the pressure to get into college is greater than before, and if a young person is not some sort of uber wunderkind they don't stand a snowball's chance. Therefore, every assignment, every point, must be micromanaged and fought for. It just seems we've become obsessed with the grade, not the learning. Yes, grades and assessments are important, and yes, times have changed, but not necessarily for the better. There is only so much time to go around each day, and spending increasing amounts of it at the computer, typing in grades, instead of creating lessons and having time to think about what I'm doing and consider how I might be doing it better seems a bit...sad. I fear that within ten to fifteen years, we won't have any teachers left who remember what it was like to really teach, to have freedom and flexibility in what they do. You see, teaching is not about being in lockstep with everyone else, on the same page, at the same time, assessing with the same test. It's about the magic that occurs, and that magic is different in every classroom setting, or at least it used to be. The true magic of education is allowing creative professionals to be their best, which means bringing their own personalities and strengths, their insights, their passion about the subject, and imparting that passion to their students. That's the magic. I recall being told, probably during student teaching (and I won't confess how many decades ago that was), to never teach a piece of literature you did not love, because the students would know. But if you always taught what you loved, they would love it, too. My career has validated that over and over again, and yet I now find myself limited in what I teach and how I teach it. And who suffers for this? Students, who need to experience the love and passion a teacher can have for a subject. I do my best to at least like and appreciate what I'm required to do, and keep a positive front, but it's not the same as the love and passion I used to have when I had freedom of choice. What does any of this have to do with grammar tips? Absolutely nothing. But my book is written out of love and passion for the subject. That's right. I love and have a passion for grammar, especially making it accessible for students and presenting it in a way they can understand and apply, now and in their futures. I'll try to stay off my soapbox, though I would imagine at some time I will address popular "bandwagons" onto which some school districts jump, and the acronyms by which they are known. However, I will try to stay focused on the purpose of this blog. Right now, on my desk, I have a list of topics that have come up during class. I'll do my best to bring the list home tomorrow and start addressing what is on it.