Missing It Just a Little Bit.....Sigh

For a few minutes last night I was missing teaching.

Yes.....the first time I have said that since August 2016. 

Why?  I asked Megan if I could be a mentor at the Clinton Prairie Battle of the Books competition last night, and she agreed, reluctantly at first.  I really enjoyed my first and only time as a mentor, which was five years ago.  After that she didn't ask me, but I also had other responsibilities at Ivy Tech that prevented me from participating even if she had asked.  This year, though, I was free!  Well, not really, since my first responsibility was to watch Cooper, but Papaw was more than willing to do that by himself.

My group was an enthusiastic bunch of freshmen who called themselves [Insert Name Here].  Grayson was the recorder of the answers, and it turned out that he also was the son of Cooper's doctor and a neighbor to Matt and Megan.  I had met his older brother earlier when I walked into the library to watch a group playing one of the many board games that Mrs. Scott has handy for the students to sharpen their minds and game-playing skills.

Megan had planned a taco bar for the students and teachers to enjoy preceding the event in the cafeteria.  All of the students were enthusiastic, polite, and congenial.  After their meal they cleaned up, stashed their trash into the trash cans, and settled into the business of answering 150 questions about the books they had read.  My role was to check their answers against those that appeared on the screen and tally the scores for each section of 25 questions.  Grayson updated the team total on the big board and was the self-appointed cheerleader for the group.  They started out slow, but they did make a comeback, finishing third overall, I think.

During the evening and while working with the kids, I felt a little tinge of 'homesickness' for teaching.  It reminded me of events that I enjoyed with my students at West Central, either in the classroom or with the Student Council.  I like working with students, seeing them grow, and helping them achieve their goals.  My group was already strategizing for next year's competition when the end of the evening rolled around.

How. Ev. Er.  As I was driving back to Megan's house, still smiling and feeling thankful that I was asked to participate again, I remembered that these groups were the select group of students who DO read, who ARE responsible, who ENJOY learning and participation.  There is also the group of those students who are not motivated, who could care less about studying and earning good grades, and who have no goals.  I saw many of those, I worked hard to change their attitudes, and now I see many of their names in the police records in the paper. Of course there were a handful that all of the efforts did affect, and I can't discount those.   But do I really want to tackle those problem students again?  I don't think so.

Much as I enjoyed working with the students last night (and really it was just a matter of listening to them and recording their scores or suggesting CHALLENGE! to them if their answer happened to be close), I am not ready to run over to Winamac or into Francesville and sign up for the sub list at either school.  I am not ready to call Amy and ask if I can teach online classes for Ivy Tech again or even an ENGL 111 class at the Logansport campus.  Those days have been replaced with sewing, reading, and many visits with the grandchildren, shopping with Hilary during the day, having my nails done, and going out for lunch with Tina, Jane, or Chris.

But it was fun. I loved seeing the enthusiasm. And I am proud of my daughter who is carrying on the legacy.