Man…have I been there before.
My goal for this week’s blog post, was to continue with my BOOM or BUST year-end review. Still is my goal, but this intro is going to take a little to get started, so hear me out.
FINAL PORTFOLIO
Slowly I am becoming a Google Docs wizard, and my plan was to continue wizard-ing (eh, its the end of the year) it up with a final portfolio assignment with a couple of my classes. Before the pre-made form was submitted, I had the students fill out an online survey, (YES through Google Docs) in which I asked them to evaluated the course as well as myself, the instructor.
I got the typical responses, that is up until the end. I was surprised that many students opted to fill out the optional short answer response questions at the end. Some nice things, some concerning things, but more importantly one item stuck out…”Why are you so sarcastic all the time?”
I know that this could have been a student who was just trying to get me going, but this made me look back and think, am I treading this sarcasm tight rope a little to closely? I mean should I cut down on it, or choose my spots better?
See, I teach high school. The birth place of sarcasm. And while most of the time I am sincere with my comments there can be times where I feel like I am having an open mic night at a student’s expense.
I swear, I could ask the kids to raise their right hand for a million points, and I would get some kids that raise their left hand or kids who look around and say “what did he say?”
I know that the kids normal reaction is to play dumb. I get it, they are teenagers. Lord knows, I’ve been there too. However, I’m not sure how many trusted adults I had responding to me with some sarcastic answer.
My answer to whom ever was brave enough to type it, my sarcasm is a coping mechanism. Without it, flipping out could be a result, and for what good would that do with today’s teenagers? Should I curb it a little, YES. And for that, whoever was asking I say thank you. Thank you for making me aware of a teaching and possibly a character flaw, while there is still time to change.
