Try new things

I now know the week after vacation is extremely long. Also, the week is what you make of it. We did a lot of work with internal and external conflict this week. My students really seemed to get what it meant to have an inner conflict with the self and an outer conflict with another individual. Thursday was fun because I had my students work on their code of chivalry according to gender (girl code and guy code). They some fun with creating their codes and working with their peers. They didn't know I was going to have them perform a Socratic seminar based on their creations. The girls were prepared for battle. The boys definitely needed some help. The girls were able to defend and reflect on what was being said. The boys were at a loss for words. They did a great job with listening and speaking to each other, giving respect, and supporting each other. We were able to make it through part three of Sir Gawain and change up our discussion on Friday. I really wanted to focus on what it means to be human. I decided to give them a short prompt to respond to for homework. The prompt was a short piece from Ellie Goulding. She has a great song called "Human' that I think my students really enjoyed. I also wanted them to create their own individual code. They needed to come up with 5 rules they follow in their lives. Our writing and discussion on being human, making mistakes, and appreciation was beyond moving. I felt like they were college freshman just getting their feet wet. I was so proud of them and how serious they were during class. They thoroughly enjoyed the video on appreciation, which I first saw in one of my college classes last semester. My high school seniors, doing college work, who wouldn't be proud?! I think it really shows just how much a student can accomplish when you believe in them. If you give them enough rope and enough encouragement, they really can accomplish anything. The expectations I have for my students will never change. The tools and helpful ideas will absolutely change depending on the topic and lesson, however, I will never just leave them out to dry. They know I want them to do it on their own but I will always be there to help them. I decided to take a shot in the dark with my seniors and it worked out in the end. They want to do more with the idea of being human, identity, and meditation in order to clear the mind. My plan for next week is getting through part 4 of Sir Gawain and giving my students more options. It seems like they are capable of really looking as a situation and determining their own path. I my come up with 2 options for them and they will decide what path we should take that day. This is definitely risky because they are still in high school but I think to think the amount of respect I give them reflects their maturity. They know not to abuse that respect. I guess what I want to say is TRY NEW THINGS WITH YOUR STUDENTS!