Guess when I wrote this
I’m just going to come out and say it.
Get it off my chest so to speak.
I am a teacher . . . and I procrastinate.
I know, sinful, shameful. How can I admit such terrible truths, and of all places here on the NAEA blog?
I figure the best way to introduce myself is to be completely open and honest. I have many redeeming qualities, but to that end I also have my faults, this I can admit. And procrastination is certainly one of the more prominent. I would bet that many of you suffer from the same affliction. Heck, I bet a great few of you are reading these very words in an attempt to procrastinate from something, in which case it is my sincerest hope that you find some amusement here.
Where I may differ from some is the pride I take in my procrastination. I do not view it as a hindrance, but rather an intellectual tool to further creative thought. Furthermore, I believe that properly utilized procrastination can be just the spark needed to inspire a profound lesson. For instance, I myself believe MY best lessons to have been written in the wee hours of the morning with nothing fueling my body but Red Bull and hope. This may just be my incoherent rambling, but I believe it is at times like these, when desperation is high, our bodies are pushed to their limits, and all hope seems lost, that we can disconnect from our minds for a split second, take a risk, grab on to that creative thought, and follow those instincts that drove us to become educators in the first place.
I am in no way advocating the destruction of tried and true pedagogy, far from it. Rather I am merely suggesting that every once and a while we refrain from planning ahead. We allow- ever so often- that something sneak up on us and take us by surprise. What we come up with may not be gold, although you never know, but at the very least it will keep us on our toes, keep us sharp. And lord knows that if we can’t stay sharper than our students, we might as well just throw in the towel now.
Take a chance. Take a risk. Let me know how it turns out. For my part, tomorrow I will forget I have a color class to teach. Let’s see how this one plays out.
-Christopher Bruce
Your blog is really insightful, Chris! I totally agree that there is something about taking an idea and letting it lead you-- even if at first it seems outside boundaries or curriculum standards, which can so easily hinder a creative endeavor. True, true-- as an educator I promise not to kill the love:)
Posted by: Erin | October 02, 2010 at 11:00 AM
I, too, am a stellar procrastinator and am thankful that you have posted on this blog, Chris! Although I am not up til the wee hours with a Red Bull, facing a morning deadline, I get my most innovative ideas after a first cup of Joe, driving to school, sometimes minutes before class is scheduled to start!
Posted by: Laura Myers | October 03, 2010 at 11:13 AM
How about offering a place to post some of these spur of the moment lessons? No structure allowed, limited to a certain number of words??
I came up with a great lesson plan that came to me as a flash of inspiration. All you need is a pack of single cardboard stencils (I found mine at Hobby Lobby, they are pink). Fold a paper in fourths, draw around the same stencil in each of the four windows changing the position of the stencil a little. Now fill in the background in each space, make sure one window includes a horizon line and a cast shadow. Do nothing to the stencil shape even though you are tempted to decorate it. This is a subject/ground lesson. The focus is on the background or negative space. On the back of the paper the students wrote what they learned. All my 5-9th graders learned what I hoped they would learn. Success!!!
Posted by: Liz Matthews | October 27, 2010 at 05:46 PM