Thursday, June 21, 2007

I Think I'm Graduating With the Wrong Degree

Have I chosen the wrong major? Here I am, only 3 classes away from graduating - sick and tired of school, and I think I've finally figured out what I'm supposed to do with my life...well at least what degree I should graduate with. I should have been an education major!!

Let me explain. I love kids. If any of you have worked with me at camp, you know that God has placed in my life a special kind of connection with children. There is no better feeling in the world than to help kids grow a little closer to God. I also LOVE to make lesson plans. I know this sounds crazy, but I really do. The problem is the kind of lesson plans I like to make. (And this is the reason why I never went into education). I am not a text book person at all. Now, don't get me wrong, I think text books have their time and place, but they are way over rated, and completely overused. I enjoy this kind of all or nothing learning. For example - reading text books - I just don't get it. Now it's possible I could be missing something, but why do we have them? Especially in today's world where you can get books on just about any topic at about any reading level. Why not read about some of the other things you are learning in class, to get kids excited about reading. You can read about animals, history, science, God, social studies; you name the topic, there are bound to be level-appropriate reading materials on that topic.

With just about any subject, you can have hands-on activites that teach far more than being confined to worksheets and textbooks will ever teach. With math - apply the math that is being taught to fun situations - cook, have "stores" set up to learn how to use money, be creative. When you are learning about science, don't just read about it in a text book, experience it. Rather than just reading a chapter about clouds, go outside, look up at the sky, peak your students curiosity by asking them questions. Go, lay on your backs, look up at the sky. What do you see? What shapes are in the clouds? What kind of clouds do you think they are? How many kinds of clouds are there? Do different clouds do different things? Then maybe think of creative ways to find out about clouds and let the kids do the teaching - let them present their findings.

I am also a huge proponent of field trips! Take the kids to experience as much as they can. They will learn much more from these experiences. Have them take pictures and make scrapbooks of the field trip. Get them excited about life, about all the things God has blessed us with in this world. The last thing I support in school is family involvement. If parents aren't involved it's no good. So you bet as a teacher I'd be having parents over to my house for meals, I'd be having all sorts of activities in which the whole family can get involved.

I guess I've been so afraid that this type of teaching would not be accepted. Especially now with all of the "No Child Left Behind" laws. Yet I wonder. What am I to do? What is God's plan for me? How does Joshua's House fit into all of this? Was I supposed to be a teacher? Do I get a degree other than the one I'm graduating with in December? So many questions. These questions spin my life kind of upside down.

Amidst all of this I am drawn to God. He knows my future, my past and present. And He knows how everything will work out. He tells us
"For I know the plans I have for you...plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." ~Jeremiah 29:11-13
So I rest on that. The question is, am I ready? Am I ready to lay aside all my preconceived notions of what life SHOULD look like? Am I willing to lay down all the plans that I have laid for my life? Am I willing to live radically? To do whatever God requires of me? Am I willing to let go?

1 comment:

Ann said...

It was nice to visit your church today. =)
I know I chose the wrong major but I am going to try and correct it this fall and go back to school to get my education degree. Don't worry about being overly creative as a teacher. The school system needs more creative teachers and less who teach to the test. A lot of people think No Child Left Behind is ruining education. Besides if you teach at a private school you won't have to meet at the NCLB standards anyway. Good luck as you!