The Best Teaching Day Ever

So I know some of you have heard this story but I have to tell it again because I had the best day ever in the classroom yesterday.

To preface, I teach 2 Social Studies classes (world history this semester) and 2 English classes. Currently, in my history class I am teaching a chapter on Greek Civilization. Now, understand that my students are pretty low and considered MR (mentally retarded) or CD (cognitively delayed) - they change the label from day to day in special ed: For example, I have a student in one of my classes who is an absolute non-reader (he does know his letters) with an I.Q. of 59. There are other students though who are considered SLD (specific learning disabilities) with slightly higher I.Q.'s. In other words, these are kids who would get totally lost in the shuffle of the general education setting - even with major modifications.

Anyway, I always find myself in a pickle when I'm planning lessons for these kids because there are certain things that they should be learning in conjunction with the general population of the high school but I want it to be enjoyable for them as well and just a little relevant. It's been very interesting so far (and a bit of a relief) to see that my students seem to be enjoying these lessons that I've chosen for them and spent all summer preparing.

So yesterday, my 6th period class (there are 4 kids in it) were starting on section 3 of my Greek Civilization chapter - having skipped Thursday to do some map reading activities. Before we got all into it, I did a bit of oral review with them to see what they remembered (thinking I was going to have to "reteach" a lot since there was a day between lessons). We started by talking about the Trojan war and I asked:

"Does anyone remember who fought in the Trojan War?"

Angela answered: "Wasn't one group Troy?"

I nearly fell over. See, Angela was a student that I had seen when she was in the 8th grade and I knew her to be one of "ours". I was on bus duty with Lisa one day after school and I looked up to see this skinny little girl with coke-bottle glasses actually licking the bus window. I remember thinking: "Ah! This is why they call them window-lickers. I'm guessing I'll be seeing her within the next year or so." (I know that's mean).

So anyway, I continued reviewing and I say:

"Who remembers why it was fought?"

Jay answers: "For a beautiful lady who got stolen."

I smile ear to ear and ask, "And what was her name?"

Mitch answered, looking out of the corner of his eye at me, "Helen?"

Me: "Yes!"

Then we discuss the Trojan Horse and all that jazz and then I ask, "Now, I know you might not remember this but does anyone remember who the poet was that wrote the 2 epic poems about the Trojan War? I'll give you a hint: His name is a cartoon characters name."

Jay says, "Fred! Just kidding. Homer."

"Good. Now, this question's tricky and I don't expect you to remember cause we didn't talk about them much but can anyone remember the names of the two poems?"

Angela pipes up and says, "Wasn't one of them the Odyssey?"

Seriously, I almost started to cry. I'm not kidding. I was so happy. Half the time I think these kids are sitting there just staring at me, not listening or not understanding half the words coming out of my mouth. The blank looks I get sometimes make me wonder why I even try and impart any knowledge to them. And then a moment like this happens and I think: Okay! Maybe it isn't a total waste of breath.

So I continue and ask, "Who remembers the major contribution that the Greeks gave to the world?"

Mitch answers, again looking at me out of the corner of his eyes, "Democracy?"

Me: "Awesome! You're on fire Mitch! Now who knows what democracy means?"

Jay: "Self-governing" (this was our exact definition form the vocabulary list).

Me: "Holy Crap, you rock! And what does that mean?"

Jay: "The people get to vote?"

Again, I was nearly in tears. I looked at the other adults in the room (Diane, Lisa and one of our subs) and they were all beaming as well, with stupefied looks on their faces. It was pretty amazing and made me feel so good. It was one of those moments that made me remember why I wanted to become a teacher in the first place. It also makes dealing with dumb ass colleagues bearable. (I know how gay I'm sounding but I don't care - it made feel all warm inside.)