Thursday, September 25, 2008

Middle School Open House

Yes, my 11 year old hit middle school this year. Tonight was the open house for 6th grade parents. And I have to say that there were a few inspiring teachers in the mix. All of the teachers seemed good, competitent. Even "highly qualified."* But I'm happy to say that Max has a few that are truly inspirational. I hope he has a landmark year.

This is about the age where education starts to get serious. I think that's because this is about the time a child's social world and educational world begin to seperate. In elementary school there is a bit of a melding between social and educational. But now school is work, hopefully challenging work, and fun is fun (and a lot of that fun happens away from the classroom). This is not to say that education shouldn't be or isn't fun. The teachers are working to help the students find passion in every field. But passion is different than entertainment. And it was obvious tonight that a few of the teachers really do get that distinction, are passionate about what they do, and will most likely inspire passion in the students they teach. That's a tall order, but one worth delivering.


* the designation the State of New Hampshire now gives to teachers they deem qualified to teach a specific subject.

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