I started teaching in the fall of 1995. That is also when I first became a Student Council Adviser. I got tricked into the job. I was the new teacher (and the only white woman in the building) and the kids swore up and down that they ran themselves. At my first school, the position was unpaid, I was teaching five completely different classes, and I did not want an extracurricular activity interfering with my single social life. I agreed, knowing that I was getting suckered. That first school had very few student run activities. Adults held onto control of most activities, including Homecoming. I think this gave them the false sense that they were in charge and the the chaos that existed was an illusion. Of course, the daily smell of weed in the hall was not an illusion.
As a Student Council, we did very little. We did manage to sponsor the first Valentine's Dance in years. For me, the best part was the fact that I became acquainted with an organization called Michigan Association of Student Council (MASC). This organization gave students lots of room to create and be leaders. I was impressed as were my students. Everytime we attended an MASC conference, my students would ask "why can't we do that?" That might include over night lock-ins, more dances, or goofy spirit days. I didn't have an answer; I was too new.
I left that school after only two years. I had trained a new president and then left her. I felt tremendously guilty, but I knew that I had to move on. I did vow to myself that if I had a chance to be the Student Council Adviser at my new school, I would take it and not allow stodgy old ideas to block my students true leadership potential. Little did I know how much my life would change at the next (and current school).
More in a day or two.
No comments:
Post a Comment