"A-Ha!" Moments

As a teacher, I have the incredible privilege of teaching students something for the first time. This comes with many challenging moments but it also comes with some of the most joyful moments in my career. Seeing students finally understand something makes my heart sing. Simply seeing the "A-ha! I get it!" expression on their faces makes all the long nights and busy weekends well worth it.

When I was told I would be teaching 6th grade Math, I was terrified to say the least. As time goes on, I am getting the hang of it and I am not disliking Math as much as I thought I would. Math comes with so many opportunities for students to understand a concept for the first time. The reaction is always the same. The student will sit up a little straighter, then take in a deep breath, their eyes will widen, and they gasp, "OOOH!!! I GET IT!!!!" This moment is thrilling and it is a highlight of my career. It happened today multiple times as we studied "solving algebraic equations".

Today I was able to teach one of my favorite Social Studies facts of the year. I told my students that Christopher Columbus did not discover the United States of America. At first, the students are always taken aback. They often look like I told them the Tooth Fairy was actually their parents (Maggie actually told me the Tooth Fairy wasn't real in 5th grade. Sad day.). This initial reaction then slowly turns to anger. The students are offended that they have been "lied" to their whole lives and they want to set out on a mission to discover who really discovered the United States. Today, one of my little 6th graders was walking out the door at the end of the period. She stopped and looked at me with purpose and asked, "Ms. Koperski, next year can we celebrate Native People's Day instead of Christopher Columbus Day?" She doesn't know it, but she gained a load of brownie points.

Teaching "firsts" also comes with difficult moments. 6th graders (and, hey, sometimes adults!) are young and experiencing things for the first time. They do not know that "funny" jokes are sometimes not so funny but actually hurtful. 6th graders do no know that ruining their friendship over a boy will end up as a regret. 6th graders do not know that wearing a certain pair of shoes does not make them more popular but actually causes you to exclude friends that cannot afford them. All of these lessons, I have had to teach my students. They have been what we call in the teaching field, "a teachable moment". Sometimes I have to stop class to address a "teachable moment" or I will have to interrupt children at recess to discuss an important issue. Either way, I am helping students learn something for the first time. Whether it's a tough or easy lesson to teach, it is exciting to be one of the firsts to help my students work their way through this crazy world.

"What we have loved, others will love, and we will teach them how."

- St. Catherine of Siena

xo

Kait