I'm days from completion of my first semester. Feeling the weight of final assignments and exams being lifted, and I still have two exams to go. I'm not quite done, but I'm certainly through the worst of it. Prepared and ready to coast to the end...! It's been a wild ride, this semester.
Tutoring this semester has given me an appreciation for everything I've learned over the years. I had to explain the terms "abortion," "discrimination" and "unprecedented" today. We went over "minority" and something else I can't remember last week. He remembered minority, and that made me feel like I was actually helping him. I can't imagine the challenge of navigating high school, and studying (and understanding) U.S. History in this case, with a limited working proficiency in English. How do you understand the impact of Roe v. Wade without the basic vocabulary surrounding the case? Or learn about the dynamism of the Civil Rights movement from a book if discrimination and minority are nothing more than words that are difficult to pronounce much less meaningful? We are so quick to use written language as a crutch in teaching and learning. There's got to be a better way to communicate the important ideas of history (and other subjects) and make them come alive for these kids.
I'm totally thrown off by the fact that the holidays are fast approaching. The climatic cues I'm used to aren't anywhere to be found in the South. It was in the mid-60s today. It feels like October, and the radios are playing Christmas songs. It feels strange, but the mild weather is easy to get used to, I'll admit. Being home for parts of December and January will surely be a jolt to the system.
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