Making new lessons that haven't been vetted by anyone, or tested a few times, is scary for me. But it's also a major part of being a good and fulfilled teacher. I have to take educational risks to get the reward-- feeling satisfied and accomplished! My new lessons were well received by my students, taught them something, and made me feel accomplished. My good things for this week are related to my new lessons.
1. Seeing honest learning taking place in my classroom. My lesson on Tuesday and Wednesday surrounded the discovery of America, and attempted to blow up students' perceptions that Christopher Columbus deserves credit for discovering America. Students look at Columbus, Leif Eriksson and Zheng He, and make conclusions about the discovery of America. I absolutely loved seeing the students' faces when they learned that the vikings made it to America 500 years before Columbus, and when they learned that Columbus wasn't the valiant hero they were taught.
2. Hearing encouraging parent feedback. In relation to Point 1, a parent of one of my students gave me some fantastic feedback about that lesson. She told me that her daughter came home and constantly talked about what she learned, and showed real passion for what she learned that day. She explained how upset she was that Columbus had a holiday, when he wasn't actually that great of a guy, and not even the first European to discover America. I can't even clearly express how insanely happy this made me. It was a comment that for sure made my week.
3. Picking a textbook for U.S. History. One great thing that took up a couple of my evenings was viewing presentations about possible textbook options for U.S. History next year. I've never been part of the process before, so I'm excited to be part of it and learn more about the curriculum-creating process.
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