Happier moments of the workday

Among the happier moments of my workdays are when I’m seeing students be productive in their learning. Truly, even former students visiting the classroom and showing interest in learning something new brings warmth to my heart. That happened today.

Two young men that graduated from my HiSET program last year were in the library, the room next door to mine, first thing this morning. Neither one had a class in there, so I invited them into my room to see the 101-year old laminated newspapers a colleague has loaned to me. They were fascinated by the samples I had, so they decided to spend the morning in my classroom. After reading through the half-dozen or so papers available, they found the challenging pyramid puzzles I have and began working on the solutions. Meanwhile, my regular students came and went as usual.

I was excited to demonstrate some new learning techniques for two of my students today, and the tablets that they have available in their housing units will give them added opportunities to practice what they do in class. From ESL to ELA, the technology and direct instruction in the classroom is changing how we offer education in the Department of Corrections!

Another student submitted his first practice essay in preparation for the HiSET (GED) writing exam. It was a good first attempt. Then I showed him a series of videos from Tennessee Adult Education about how to prepare for the essay exam. He took good notes and left class with another writing assignment. When he has completed one or two more take-home essays, I’ll test his ability to write while in the classroom.

The puzzlers are still at it. They’ve each solved their own pyramids, and one has taken on the other’s tower. He was very critical of the first fellow’s time (about 90 minutes) for completing the tower, so we’re watching to see if he can complete it faster. It’s moving 8 wooden rings one at a time, never putting a larger one on top of a smaller one, from one post to a third post, using the middle post as needed, until the entire stack has been moved.

I think he’s going to beat the first fellow’s time, tbh. Yup, he’s nearly done; 15 minutes.