Twitter Tuesday will return next week–sometimes narrative writing is easier than copying links.
I had one of those rare teaching moments today–a moment so perfect that I almost started to cry. A moment that I knew immediately I needed to write about so I could read it next week when I’m in the throes of grading research papers and wanting to quit.
My friend, who is our media specialist, asked me last year if I’d be interested in finding some students to be part of the Library of Congress’ Web Archiving Project. I thought it would be a perfect fit for my media studies class, and it has been.
Today we had a kickoff meeting, via Skype, with several other schools across the country. As we listened to the head of the project explain the next steps in building our web archive, I looked around the room. This is what I saw:
- All nine students paying attention–not a one was texting (at that moment, anyway) or talking.
- A girl asking questions via Skype to a person she’s never met.
- A boy, unprompted by an adult, who got out of his seat every five minutes or so to move the computer’s mouse to keep the screen from going to sleep.
- Another girl filling a notebook with ideas and notes and instructions.
My heart stopped, and I wanted to freeze the moment and stay there forever. It was just so perfect.
A friend asked me tonight how I could teach every day and keep my soul intact.
Moments like today, in our school library with nine students, a dear friend, and five pizzas, all of us working on a project that actually matters.
That’s how I keep my soul intact.
