That's a Wrap!!

MMmmmmmm.... wrap....

Thanks for letting me be your instructor for this semester. You all most likely represent the last group of students I will teach at USM. Remember that the blog will be here for you in perpetuity (as far as I know), and that it now becomes a teaching/idea/book selection resource for you and your students.

I wish you all well in your scholarly and teaching careers. Remember, that just like this class, teaching is and should be hard but rewarding work when you're doing it right. You know you've hit your stride when you come home exhausted from the work you did today, but exhilarated about what you'll do tomorrow.

I urge you all to try your hand at teaching in Mississippi, but to learn how to be an agent of change, even if it means you have to be a subversive one. Learn the systems, then work to change the systems for the better. Remember that there are macro and micro systems. If you find yourself eventually spinning your wheels, remember that there are students in other schools, other counties, states, and even countries who need you just as much as the students in your current position.

I urge you all to eventually consider getting a Masters degree after teaching for a couple of years and to join professional organizations likes NCTE, IRA and ALAN. Ongoing professional development is key to being a good teacher current with research and best practices. Anyone who tells you that after a year or so of teaching, you no longer need to do things like lesson plan, read your field's journals, go to conferences, etc. is doing you and your students a disservice. Seek out opportunities to make yourself a better teacher, and never assume you have no more work to do.

Enjoy your students and embrace the challenges they offer you. Heed that the challenges from other stakeholders may very well be more aggravating than anything the kids throw at you. Be an educator of kids, not a purveyor of standardized tests and pacing guides. Humble yourself before your students; don't feel the need to be the smartest person in the room at all times; find ways to make every student feel safe and valued. Learn from your mistakes, and do not become one of those teachers who feels that s/he's never made any or stopped making them years ago.

Remember that failing is part of success. Sometimes you have to punt the ball and hope for another chance to score. You can fail a hundred different ways and never be a failure because you kept at it until you had a breakthrough of success, no matter how small. Distinguish between little "f" and big "F," little "s" and big "S." A string of little "f's" can actually help you achieve a big "S." My public school teaching career sounded like letting air out of a thousand tires one at a time --- "fffffssssssffffsssffsfsfsfsfsfsffffsssfsfsfsfsfsfsssfffss" --- and I'm a better teacher for it.

I know you can do it. You can make a difference in Mississippi's schools and any school in which you find yourself. Your careers are just beginning, though we may say of this course, "that's a wrap!"


Best,
Dr. Carter