High School Perceptions

I think that when I was in high school, I was oblivious at the time to the amount that my teachers did for my peers and I. I was grateful and respectful to my teachers and had built strong relationships with some of them over my four years. But it was not until I began practicing to become a teacher, that I fully realized all of the things they had to endure....patience with our attitudes, our desire to get anywhere but Camanche High, our tardiness, etc. I went to school with a good group of kids...they all had potential and the motivation to pursue a life after high school, but did not always want to actually be IN school. I remember one of my friends referring to high school as a four year prison sentence. I think that most high school students feel that they are ready to be done, ready to go on to the next step, ready for freedom....and as stated perfectly by one of the students I will be working with this semester, "High school students think of themselves as adults already." This is true, I remember thinking that I wanted to get a move on with it all, didn't want to be trapped in high school. Now I realize that I had a lot of growing up left to do, but this is what is to be expected when working with high school students, or at least what I expect. I was fortunate, however, to have a great group of teachers who made our classes enjoyable, inspired us for what was to come after high school. I hope that I am able to inspire the same sort of emotions for my students. I hope that they will be able to enjoy their time in high school, or at least find solace in the art room. I am excited to learn as much from my students as I hope to teach them, and I look forward to find out what inspires them and to create lessons that they will enjoy.