Ben Guest Assignment: Choose a blog written by a second year, read it in its entirety from first post to last post, and reflect on their experience.
I could've made this assignment very easy for myself; there are plenty of blogs that are of a less than challenging length, blogs that would've taken no time at all to read. However, I chose one of the longer blogs to ensure I would be able to take at least a little something away from it. In an effort to avoid boredom though, I made a point of it to chose a blog I thought I would find amusing. Thus I went with Trevor Jensen's blog, and I hope that won't go to his head.
The most important thing that I took away from reading Trevor's blog was the fact that despite the calm, confident, and engaging personas the second years all carry so well, even the best of them faced some struggles in the beginning. I find it extremely reassuring to know that everyone gets better with time, practice, and experience. Some of us definitely took to teaching quicker than others, but we have a long two years together and that's plenty of time to work towards becoming the teachers we all hope to be.
Between teaching a completely foreign subject, having to act as a stand-in janitor, and a slew of various other complications and unexpected hitches, I'd venture to say that Trevor had one of the more, how should I put this, interesting Teacher Corps experiences. I'm knocking on wood as I say this, but it seems like it can really only get so bad down here. I have no doubt I'll experience my fair share of failures and problems along this journey, and the actual magnitude of that probably hasn't even fully hit me yet, but at the end of the day, at the very least, I'll still be surviving. For the time being, that's something I can take comfort in.
I can relate to many of Trevor's thoughts and beliefs, everything from a deep aversion towards the no smiling until Christmas rule to an appreciation for the addictive quality of southern cuisine. Trevor's blog offered a wealth of information, and I think that living with him this upcoming year will prove to be an invaluable experience.
You have chosen... poorly.
ReplyDeleteI actually started reading yours first, but I realized I would have an easier time relating to someone more mortal. I anticipate failing quite a bit, or at least struggling, and since your blog portrays a complete lack of failure, I just felt we wouldn't have enough common ground. No hard feelings; take solace in the fact that I turned to your blog first.
ReplyDeleteTrevor Jensen is a tired hack! If his "blog" (if you want to call it that) were a tangible entity, I would spit a great spattering of snuff upon it... after having stomped it sufficiently into the ground. I think I may print out a copy of it now, so I may do just that. I can only imagine that whatever value was derived from poring though that senseless drivel was something akin to the passion a code-breaker feels when trying desperately to make sense of some secret communique, map to the resting place of Jesus' family, or alien cook book.
ReplyDeleteThat comment might just be the funniest thing I have read on vox thus far. I don't even know what to say to that. If you feel so strongly about Mr. Jensen's writing I would advise taking the matter up with him, as I am but a mere reader and he is the creator of the "senseless drivel" you speak of. I'm sorry you're so adamantly opposed to what I might have otherwise thought was a work worthy of publication.
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