Well I have successfully passed student teaching with flying colors. Clearly there wasn’t any time to write or barely even breath for that matter. Since passing student teaching, I have been in the never-ending job search in the bad economy…not going well. However, I have hope and I continue to look everyday. Other than catching up and rambling on, I’ve decided to share about a teacher that I’ve been reading about who’s been a great inspiration to me and whose ideas are great and worth trying in any classroom. Of course, I’m sure that many of you have already heard of him: Rafe Esquith.
Rafe is a teacher in California and does amazing things with his students. His 5th graders live in impoverished areas and often come from low socio-economic backgrounds and yet he gets them to perform Shakespeare and read, “To Kill a Mockingbird” each year. I wish I had read more about him before starting my urban student teaching placement; his words would have pushed me to work harder for them and his ideas and techniques could have come in handy. Having recently finished two of his books, “Teach Like Your Hair’s On Fire” and “There Are No Shortcuts” I’ve come to learn a lot about expectations and what it really means to be an outstanding teacher in today’s world. Hopefully I’ll be able to get a job with a classroom of my own where I can put some of my new ideas and skills to use. For any of you who haven’t read about Rafe or are interested in learning more, I’ve provided a link to his website below.
http://www.hobartshakespeareans.org/
