Year 3 of my time as a big boy teacher has come to an end and I must say that I have learned so much. This is no surprise as I have been warned this would be the case. “Teachers are learning just as they are teaching.” It’s why teachers are labeled philosophers. God knows I’m feeling it every day. I’m always learning something new and figuring out the best way to teach it to the next flow of students.
For example, this was the first year that I taught magical realism. Hell, I didn’t even know what constitutes magical realism so I had to do quite a bit of research to even get a grasp on it. Now, not only do I understand it, I feel compelled to not only read more books of the genre, but I also want to try my hand at writing it. There’s a certain magic (no pun, intended) to this genre that I want to make sure that everybody appreciates.
I also learned the origins of science fiction. Well, the Victorian origin of it, anyway. The process. The acclaim. The delicate line that was being toed. Everything about my favorite genre was presented to me in a whole new light. It gave me a greater appreciation for it. Finally, it gave me an increase in vigor to write more SF short stories. Again, writing an SF series will take up too much time, especially with my LGBTQ Crimeverse.
Finally, I finally got to put my newly acquired knowledge of the Modernism Movement to good use. But it was more than that. I got to properly show them the effect that literature and history have on each other. I got to show them that there was – and is – no one way to write a compelling story. I think they enjoyed the stream-of-consciousness storyline. I wonder if I can get them to write some of it…maybe next year.
Please don’t forget to follow me on my social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads) on my web page’s right side. Also, I love hearing suggestions of what books to read outside of my norm (Science fiction and Fantasy) as I am a part of the Goodreads’ reading challenge for 2024. For this year, my goal is 150, and I’m already at 129 (86%). Given that I’m in school and teaching English, I will blast through this challenge.
