NO,SERIOUSLY, I WANT TO KNOW.

Teaching English Second Language ( is it really at Ecole Secondaire Jean Nicolet ?)
is the best and most interesting subject a person can teach.
Why ?
Because English is fun,funny, poetic, practical, fairly easy to learn when you have a good teacher ( insert picture here ;).

Last month, my sec. 4 students proved it once more.
It`s never boring in Intensive English class. We read great literature, we discuss, we write on different subjects and so on.
So 2 weeks ago I wanted my students to reflect on the writing process.
I wanted them to reflect, organize their ideas in their head, structure their ideas and write it in their second language.
I didn`t want them to think or ponder on just anything.
I wanted a subject that would touch them and needed reflection on their part.
What to ask I thought ?
The great thing about English class is the world,the universe is our subject really.
We can write, read, talk about sports and weather one minute and philosophize the next.
The world is our playground.
And honestly, if Intensive English students were asked, we could change the world, we have opinions and solutions.
But then again, I wanted to give my 16 year-olds the time to stop and think .
Forget regurgitating answers on paper .
And since I will have to read and correct 62 copies,I wanted it to be a little stimulating. Need I remind you I `m off coffee after noon.....

The other beauty about teaching my kids is that they are so smart,interested and interesting
I could also add respectful, polite and caring but you wouldn`t believe they are all that anyway.
I hear you :" yeah right, of course, they`re her students ! "
Yes they are.


So what did they have to write about anyway !?
I asked them 2 questions which at first glance seemed very inoffensive.
But when I told them what I DIDN`T want in their answer, their reaction was priceless.

Q1- WHO do you want to be when you grow up ?
What I didn`t want is a profession. It is not WHAT do you want to be but WHO.
I got a stereo surround sound " Hmmmmmmm "
Bait worked.

Q2- You are now 15- 16 years old, what have you learned so far ?
This answer has nothing to do with Math, French or English.
The best lessons in life aren`t learned sitting behind a desk.

After I explained the questions, the students were looking at them on the board like deers in the headlights.
I knew they could do this, they just needed time to think.
They are so used to being asked to produce,perform and produce some more that I had to reassure them with the deadline: a week.



The result ?
Beyond my highest expectations.
I swear, the quality of their writing is so great you `d believe that English is their native tongue !!!
I knew I would read some really great written productions but this was like eating chocolate.
Yep it was that good.
Teaching has its perks but this was more than that.
Some students poured their heart and soul in their answers.
The maturity of their answers really caught me off guard most of all.
I can say without any hesitation that some students answered better than if I had asked some of my adult entourage.

My problem now, which I hadn`t anticipated is : How do I mark this ?
I can mark the " HOW " they wrote it but how can I mark the " WHAT ", the content.
Who am I to evaluate such honest and explicit answers coming from the heart ?

I believe to evaluate is to evolve.
How do I or how can I evaluate personal evolution ?
Do I only evaluate the English aspect of it?

So I go have dinner with the family at a friend`s house last night .
She and her husband are both teachers too.
At the table, I tell them about this unexpected problem.
After some discussion, my friend Marie proposed : " How about auto-evaluation ?"
That makes sense,evaluate the language on a separate sheet and as for the content, they do a self-evaluation.

Is that what I am going to do ?
Don`t know yet.
I`m still thinking.

But isn`t it ironic how an exercise to make my students think, ponder, reflect on the writing process turned out to be an exercise for me also.
It gives a whole different point of view to the phrase : to evalute is to evolve.
I can confirm that I have evolved also and THAT was unexpected too.

And that my friends, is another reason why I love my job.
Of course there are days I wish I worked in a grocery store.
But then again,can cans of tomato soup stimulate my intellectual and personal evolution like my students do ?
I don`t think so.

And what would YOU answer ?
Think,organize and structure your ideas and write it.

You just might be surprised with your answers.




To my kids in Sec.4, this is for you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdMbHfA-e74

No rest for the wicked,
Annie