On the Porch with Pat

I've fallen in love (again)

Gosh, it's fun teaching punctuation at "Invalid Item" . It's hard work, but you can't beat the feeling of having a class full of students eager to learn about punctuation. I throw some pretty tough material at them, so they are asked to work pretty hard. But we have a lot of fun too. I offer weekly challenges that give them extra practice on whatever topic we are studying. They are optional, but the students almost always complete them.

The forum is our classroom. Students are encouraged to step up to the chalkboard, crawl out on that limb and write something they're not even sure about. We learn, though, that mistakes aren't scary. They can POINT IT OUT FOR A POINT, which means if they find an error in my writing, they can point it out and get a POP point. Our mistakes are merely OTLs (Opportunities To Learn).

That classroom keeps me so busy that I barely have time to grade their assignments. How can I stay away when so much learning is waiting there for me to help them achieve? Nothing is "off topic" as long as it is E Rated. Their various conversations are just more opportunities for me to teach them grammar and punctuation. It's language, and we need language for there to be punctuation. What better way to learn it than by using our own words and conversations?

The best part is getting to know wonderful people and making new friends. If I listed them, the list would include every student I've had because each person impacted my life in some way. The first one on that list, though, would have to be Winnie Kay . Just before beginning as an instructor, I took Winnie's Comma Sense. That' a tough class, but it was one that I really needed to take. I was actually learning about comma placement, but at the same time I was learning about being a good teacher. I tried to be just like Winnie. Our teaching styles are very much alike, but with time, I have found my own little niche. I can honestly say that my style is definitely Patrician with a distinct Winnie flavor.

This really isn't meant as an advertisement for my class. I just spent this weekend grading assignments and working with my students in the classroom. I wanted to take a break; I needed to write in my blog, so there you go. Blogs are strange things. It's hard to write in a blog without thinking, "Who in the world cares about what's going on in my mind? They have their own full lives to deal with." Maybe the blog is for me. It just helps motivate me if I think someone out there might enjoy it for some strange reason.

Pat