A Teachable Moment

I am going to post a great big fat "My first few weeks as a real teacher" entry as soon as I can, but I just have not been able to get around to that yet. Thus, I am copying an essay that I wrote for my Strategic Reading classes as an example of something they are working on for a project...they are supposed to write Compare/Contrast essays on how they see themselves v. how others see them, and I told them I would never give them an assignment that I would not be willing to do myself, and they needed some clarification. Thus, I like the way it turned out, and I will share:

A. Lind
September 9, 2009
Strategic Reading 1st/2nd Block
NCSCS Objectives: 1.01, 6.01, 6.02
Compare and Contrast Essay: “I See Inside Myself; You See My Mirror”

Ever since I was a little girl, I knew exactly who I was and what I wanted to be called; my name was always Abigail, and always will be Abigail. I do not go by Abby; that’s not my name and I will never allow anyone to pretend that it is. Abigail means “Source of Joy,” and that name means a lot to me, so I strive to live that out, but I often wonder if other people see me as I see myself.

The way that I see myself is based upon the situations that have occurred in my life thus far. I believe that I am intelligent because I always worked hard in school, and now I am a teacher. I also see myself as very outgoing because I usually make friends easily and I can entertain a crowd by telling a quick-witted story (which could also be due to my background in theater and gymnastics). Furthermore, I think that my best characteristic is my ability to laugh in any situation, and the fact that I have a very unusual laugh only adds to the joy that I hope it brings to the people around me. I was voted “most humorous” by my class when I was a senior in High School, so this ability has been revealed to me on multiple occasions. Thus, the way I see myself is sometimes the same but sometimes different from the way that others see me.

When other people look at me, they see a young woman who is small in stature but loud in voice. I think that my laugh is often the first thing that many people notice about me, so in that regard, others can see the joy that I know I have within me. However, there are many things about me that other people do not know. I often get sidetracked into believing that I am not smart enough or not good enough at certain things, which I think is something that many people struggle with but are not willing to admit. People look at me and assume things that may never be true, but how will they ever know until they truly form a relationship with me? I desire that everyone gets to know me as I attempt to know them, because relationships are difficult as people are difficult to understand. When I look in the mirror I know what’s beyond the face, but do other people have any idea? If we all make efforts to dig deeper, maybe we will all find out more about each other that we never knew existed, and that is what brings joy to my heart.

That's all for now, folks.