On Second Thought...
en·thu·si·asm (enˈTHo͞ozēˌazəm/). n. 1. Great excitement for or interest in a subject or cause. 2. A source or cause of great excitement or interest.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, 'Enthusiasm is the mother of effort, and without it nothing great is ever achieved.'
I don't know where enthusiasm comes from exactly, but I try hard to generate it in my class. I mean, I really, really, REALLY try hard. In fact, I try so hard to instill it in class that I may start writing it in my lesson plans--Get students enthusiastic about, fill in the blank.
Unfortunately, enthusiasm can't be quantified. You can't weigh it, measure it, tag it and put it in a jar so that later you may compare it with others, as though it's some sort of, I dunno, test score or something.
At times the world can chip away at your enthusiasm, and when it does- that's life. There's knowledge and growth to be gained from hardship. So long as the winds of hardship don't blow out the wick completely, all should be fine.
Yesterday those winds of hardship came a blowin', and for the first time ever as a teacher, my wick blew out.
I shut down the blog, the geocache, the pictures, the critical thinking questions, the 200-point clue etc. etc. The extraneous stuff was getting cut.
GASP!!
When I got to school today I had multiple emails, texts, and students voicing their concerns. The outpouring was much bigger than I expected. It made me realize how important all of it was....and then, like trick candles on a birthday cake, the wick re-ignited.
Needless to say-- everything is back on. EVERYTHING.
It seems that there was something I had forgotten about enthusiasm-- it's contagious. Thank you.
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