Relatable

The internet is an interesting place to have an alter ego.

After my last post, I received a comment and an email. Both were appropriately anonymous, but suffice to say that each orginated locally from an individual related to my place of employment.

This does not bother or concern me, as I think the site is sufficiently anonymous and I am sufficiently professional (both at work and online) to supercede any potential trouble.

Having said that, I found both the comment and the email comforting. Just knowing that a certain breed of reader is out there and cares is nice.

The email was extremely kind and referred to my abilities as a teacher. This in spite of the fact that the writer of the email has never actually had a class with me. It was touching to know that my style or ability or something had touched somebody out there, but even more so coming from someone outside the circle of those who feel close to me. I was humbled to receive the message, along with an invitation to read the writer's own web site.

I must confess that I have been reading the person's web site for months now. In fact, I regularly read the web sites/myspaces/livejournals of ::gasp:: students. I read them and I learn from them, but I have certain policies I follow. One of those is that I try to never let the student know I have read the information. I feel that, in spite of the fact that it is published in a rather public forum, these are a student's feelings, and he or she should not feel that "the man" (or in this case woman) is watching him or her.

Secondly, this is the internet, not school, and anything said here should be kept out of school except in very extreme circumstances, like when I feel someone might be a legitimate threat to themselves or others. Otherwise, the student's livejournal should be a safe haven to bitch, whine, moan, and, yes, even threaten, provided those threats are obviously empty. I think common sense is really important in those sorts of scenarios.

What I don't want is for students to have to think twice when writing their LJ entries because I - or another adult - might be reading them. I am interested in knowing the authentic person beyond the person I see in my class or the hallway. Most of the time I find the students are not so much unlike me, and I am able to empathize with their struggles. I am reminded of the everyday headaches and serious drama of being a teenager.

In the email I referred to earlier, the writer said I am relatable for students, and that's why they like me. I like that idea, and I really have to agree with it. Students tend to see me as a real person. That might sound silly, but most teachers are seen as a sort of cardboard cutout of a human being - all academics or fluff or blather, with little beyond the 7 am to 3 pm time slot. With me, however, I find that students really are often able to realize that I'm a whole person. Maybe it's from the way I teach, or maybe just my personality. Whatever the cause, I agree with the emailer that it is generally more helpful than hurtful, and helps me have a more open and honest relationship with my students.

It isn't the same as being a "buddy" to my students, which I think too many teachers are. No, I'm still a teacher, and I am still both the adult and the expert in the room. Still, if my students see me as a whole person, they are more likely to be fair to me and less likely to try to pull one over on me. When I see them as a whole person (which I always strive to do), I am able to offer them the same respect.

I say all of this after what was a pretty crappy day at school. My first American Studies class acted like a bunch of babies today. One student whined that it wasn't he who wrote about his "hiney" on the board, but the chalk. Another couldn't stop interrupting me. Later, the girl in front of him stole his pen after they continually wrote on one another's arms in a sort of "pen fight." This was my first, best, and smallest AP-level class of 11th graders. My other class was only moderately better, and my 4th period reading class was typically bored and unenthused, despite my best efforts.

I wonder what my day would've been like if my students didn't find me so relatable. I am willing to bet I would have left in tears.