In life, sometimes you win and sometimes you... lose. Well unfortunately for me, I hate losing. I live to succeed, achieve, and accomplish. Overall this sucka-free attitude has worked for me, I have always managed to get s%#! done and avoid what I deem one of the most undesirable human emotions - embarrassment. To avoid embarrassment in the classroom, it is beneficial to be Ms.Wit the S%#! as I am able to be in tune with everything going on all while teaching. "Everything going on" encompasses knowing if I am keeping a steady momentum to keep students engaged, which students are disengaged (and how I can manage that), and also what is working and what is not.
In teaching, sometimes you are wit' it and sometimes you just aren't. Sometimes you end the class feeling accomplished, having given an engaging micro lecture followed by related activities that excite the students. Other times, you fumble the ball. You deliver an obviously cloudly (based on student's expressions) potentially extensive 'micro-lecture', followed by mundane activities or videos that fail to drive the point home. I am only saying this because I have experienced both, both of which I have found to be extremely rewarding experiences when understanding how to navigate the thin line between succeeding and failing in the classroom.
My COMM 2020 group is overall a great group, once I get them moving. We have had great discussions and I have watched them have meaningful interactions with their peers throughout the course of the semester. I have managed to do a pretty good job tailoring the content to what I think they would appreciate and overall benefit from. When preparing for our recitation over language, I was excited! My brain was filled with many ideas that could act as an extension of the lecture but also offer new real-world information. I contacted my dad and aunt, asking them to record a short video greeting the class and briefly explaining the origin of their language - all in their native tongue, Twi.
I kicked off the class showing the short videos, "What better way to talk about language than to start by watching others speak theirs!". Students smiled and some even waved back at the projection! It was a seamless transition into the content that made sense and grabbed the students' attention. After some review of lecture content and an activity prompting them to create their own words, I concluded the session with an interesting topic that is rarely discussed, language death. I played an eight-minute video accompanied with guiding questions for students to answer as they watched (they were easy - but it made them pay attention). The students attentively watched the video and answered the questions, but it was clear that the video was of interest and offered information that they had not previously possessed. To end, students wrote a brief reflection and shared their thoughts with the class. After the recitation, a student commented on how "interesting" recitation she found recitation that day. Well-designed lesson plans like this exemplify what it means to be wit' it - non-stop engaging content that allows the students to leave with something new.
But some days you're not on fire and even if you are, your content just isn't. Just as my 2020 group can be vocal about what they enjoy, they are also pretty good at at least showing what they do not enjoy. Although some can be thrilled about talking about self - others would rather avoid it (kind of like how I would have like to avoid this moment). But for some reason, the lack of enthusiasm did not stop me from attempting to design a lesson plan that left students feeling the benefit of understanding and looking within the self. Dumb of me upon reflection. 18-20-year-olds do not want to deeply reflect on what they think of themselves or 'who they are' and those that are 20+ feel they have a pretty good understanding or at least believe its time to act like it. I know this now - but when I played a video clip about self-esteem by School of Life, I was naive to think it would go well. The students watched in horror (or disinterest) and confusion as the dry British humor went right over their heads. Soon the class was over, but my horror had just begun. "You lost me with the video", "it was creepy", "my neighbor said it was depressing", "sounds like something my therapist would say." At that moment, I realized I can be Ms. Wit the S%#! but sometimes but content just ain't wit' it.
The good thing is, you live to see another day when you fail in the classroom (or at least you have to because being a TA doesn't come with extra lives). Successes AND failures in the classroom are beneficial, as it is in both that I can truly understand my students and how to engage them. Even with a sucka-free attitude, I admit it is okay to not be wit' it, it's okay to always be Tom Brady, it's okay to scare your students (in order to scare yourself) because it makes you a better teacher. I have faith that teaching will teach me a lot, including how to lose - and I'm wit' that.
Whether you find yourself wit' it or not, take it, learn from it, and appreciate it.
Sincerely,
#mswiththes%#!
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