Chapter 6: Motivation and Boredom (Fires)

    The sixth chapter of Fires in the Bathroom, by Kathleen Cushman, focused on impassioning both the students and teacher as a root to classroom success. I was pleasantly surprised by the students in the book that discussed how they hoped for their teachers to motivate them and create connections between the subject and its relevance to life. One of the key reasons I want to teach juniors and seniors is because they have reached that point where they know that they must do well in order to get into the universities (or whatever they strive to do after graduation) of their choice, thus they put forth more effort into their work. At least, that is what I observed during those two years of my life, before that students would dwell on the classes “irrelevance to my life.” Needless to say, hearing the students talk about how they wanted to do well moved me.

     In high school, teachers repeatedly stressed the importance of establishing good habits as they would follow you into college. Personally, this was not true. I had decent habits in high school, but I never needed to study, because of this I never learned study habits or really even organizational habits until college. However, what I did learn in high school was the importance of language as one of the greatest tools to success. One of my teachers once told me, “Sometimes it’s not what you know, but how you say it. Even if you’re wrong, if you say it with conviction sometimes nobody will question it.” As a future English Teacher I understand this importance, and though I do believe in the relevance of the books and curriculum, my strongest belief is that English (as a class) is to prepare students to develop strong skills on establishing rooted opinions that can be supported with examples. The beauty of literature and writing is that there are endless possibilities for interpretation, unlike math it is not cut-and-dry, but rather abstract; although my opinion may not parallel the students’, if they can support it and explain it to me with conviction I have taught them well. Understanding Edgar Allen Poe may be culturally helpful, but arguing its relevance to something higher is a life skill that is applicable to every subject. Ultimately, creating a classroom with strong beliefs and the courage to express them is critical to a healthy learning environment.