We had graduation tonight at The
Bartow Arena for Oak Mountain High School's class of 2012. It has been
quite a road over the last 4 years for these students. The world has
changed so much over these four years.
From iPads and apps to Twitter and Edmodo,
the technologies that these kids interact with on a daily basis has changed
dramatically over their high school careers.
What changes will the next four years bring? At graduation there was the usual Pomp and Circumstance.
The Valedictorian's speech talked about thanking teachers for preparing them
for what was to come. This got me wondering how well I had prepared the
students I taught for the future. Out of the roughly 450 student that
graduated tonight I counted 163 that I had taught. Had I done a good job
preparing these students for their future endeavors? Had I made an impact
on their lives, or will I be one of the "oh yea I think I had that
class" teachers?
This week also marked the end of an
era. Oak Mountain High School band director, Jim Duren officially retired. Mr.
Duren was my 'Impact Teacher'. He was my band director at Pelham High School
and when Oak Mountain opened in the fall of 1999 I switched schools in part
because of him. Not only is he an amazing musician, he is also a man of such
strong character and ideals that I hope to possess and pass on to my students.
His retirement ceremony was held on Sunday and it concluded with "Mr.
Duren's Opus". Consisting of former students dating back to 1978 when he
taught at Mountain Brook High School, the "Mr. Duren's Opus"
orchestra wanted to give a piece of what he shared with all of us, back to him.
It highlighted three classical pieces and movements, in which Mr. Duren was our
director for one last time.
So as the graduating seniors walked
across that stage, will they remember me and what can I do in the future to
bring the lessons alive so that they do not just memorize it for the test but
actually learn? I think that most of the students will remember me and through
the integration of new technologies in class I know I can better reach my
students in math. As I go forward I know
I must keep this in mind when I am planning for next year and in future
years. Technology moves forward and so
will I.
You asked a lot of good questions. I hope to make an impact in the lives of students also. I had an inspirational teacher in a high school math class. She is one of the reasons I love math. What I loved about her was the way she helped us to have confidence in ourselves. I felt like I could attempt any math problem in her class, nothing was unapproachable. She taught us the skills and allowed us the freedom to use them. I hope to make the kind of impact for others that she made with me.
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