Poor, poor Edwin...but Thank You!

Edwin Hopkins in a mover and a shaker. I will thank him everyday I see my students in my classroom. Because of him, I think I have been blessed with the numbers I have in my classes. When I first began teaching six English classes at a school with 1400 plus students, I averaged about 32-37 students in each class. Talk about overload; but I didn't complain because I needed tenure, roots, rights to the position. Three of the six classes were composition classes - Expository writing to be exact. As a new teacher, nobody told me what I was supposed to teach, how it was to be taught, or when I should teach what was expected. All I received was a text book and a roster, and of course a friendly welcome and good luck.

Teaching in public schools seems to have changed. New teachers are now offered a mentor, a curriculum guide, resources to provide support and smaller class sizes. All of this is to keep good teachers in the school and help them make tenure. That is just within the past ten years. The trend in teaching English has definitely changed. Gone are the days of my three Expos. classes of 35 plus juniors/seniors, seven period day, and "here's the book, good luck". However, I would not trade those days for anything; they made me the teacher I am today. If I could handle that, I could handle pretty much anything else. And I have...but it is nice to have smaller class sizes, more conference time for individual student attention, and less time spent reading student papers. We have now moved to a 90 minute, 4X4, block schedule (with obvious pros and cons). I only teach three classes now, have more student contact time, and love it! My Expos. classes (2) are at 15 and 22 students. I have never had classes that small my entire teaching career! Most of our English classes are relatively small; but, there are some downfalls to that. Our electives are overloaded. The Spanish classes average 38 students per class, math is in the 30's, social studies is experiencing an increase of numbers as well. Now that we are all becoming teachers of writing and reading, we all need to have manageable numbers in our rooms.

I understand Hopkins' pedagogy, but times they are a changin'. With the current trend in our economy, technology, and education, students need to be prepared for what awaits them upon graduation. And of course the ever-looming state assessments, teacher accountability, performance, school accountability and accreditation, AYP, SAR, CSAP, ACT, and any other acronym eduction wants to throw in our face change teaching practices. We teach our content, but we need to focus on the skills to learn whatever content is taught. My students will read The Joy Luck Club, Walden Two, Bless Me Ultima, Hamlet, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, and a variety of other readings; however, I will not focus on what the story is about, I will focus on how to find the story. Inferencing, questioning, understanding, clarifying, supporting - all of the skills necessary to succeed in the world, along with some historical, cultural, and societal issues they may face. This is where literature and composition intertwine. Not only will they hopefully be successful on high-stakes tests and school accountability reports, but they will learn something useful. Going back to Hopkins and his desire to have smaller class sizes, this kind of teaching allows the instructor to have one-on-one time with students to conference, seminar, share, elaborate without the stress of how many papers need to be graded by when leading to shared success.

But much like Bishop, Hopkins describes the burn-out. We need time for ourselves to debrief, relax and reflect. That is where the balancing act begins. I am a mother first and foremost, then I am a wife. Next, I am a daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, cousin. After all of that I am a friend, a teacher, and a student. Do my roles always fall into this order - no, definitely not. I am constantly juggling these roles 24/7 (yes, even in my sleep). I rarely have time to be Shaynee. And that is what I think Hopkins is trying to change. We choose our professions - police, firemen, CEO's all multi-task and have stressful jobs. So to say one profession is more demanding than another is not a fair statement. PE teachers are a prime example of this - they rarely take home papers to grade, but they do have to plan, teach, inspire, and encourage. They are part of a stressful profession; and the good ones, as any good teacher teaching any subject, feel the stress and pressures of the job. I am reminded of Atticus Finch when he tells Scout "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-until you climb in his skin and walk around in it."

We all have a cross to bear - this may coincide with Hopkins' spiritual side - and I believe that God does not give us a cross we cannot bear. I think a teacher needs to be a spiritual individual in order to inspire others - we practice what we preach to get the results we want. That's my take on it, anyway.

Edwin Hopkins is my hero in the sense that he sacrificed his time, energy, and life to a profession that has evolved over the years. Because of his efforts I am able to enjoy what I do professionally and personally. Thank you, Edwin.