I've often used my English teacher status to be a bit unconventional with my students. I always have pictured them thinking about me years later as a bit weird and odd, yet passionate.
Today for instance, I took my 3rd graders on a walking/writing field trip around the block. They had to observe their surroundings using the 5 senses. At one point, I had them actually find a spot to sit in the small street/alleyway behind the school, and write non-stop for two minutes in their journals. They looked at me like I was crazy, but they did it. Passersby did a double-take when they saw children sitting in the street.
Afterwords, sharing their observations, I asked the kids what they saw, heard, smelled, tasted (that didn't yield much), and felt.
One kid said, "I felt the streets!"
"Wow!" I said. "You were really into the meaning of this assignment! You connected with the world in a way you didn't before! You are turning into such a writer!"
"No," he said. "I mean, I really felt the streets! I was sitting on the ground!"
Perhaps it was not quite the life-changing moment I had envisioned.
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