I sit here and try to think of inspirational and witty words for you - all the while soaking in the irony that I don't even know you yet. How can I try to inspire you when I don't even know you? I'd be inspiring generic ideas of who you are, based on my experiences with ten previous classes of 8th graders - but those ideas are false. I don't know you.
Sure, I know who many of you are but that is not what I'm talking about. I am talking about really truly knowing you. Knowing how you learn, what you enjoy to do, what inspires you, what makes you make that fingernails on the chalk board face (wait, what is a chalk board?) - those things. That takes time. Time I am willing to invest so that one day I will be able to say that I really know you. Therefore, instead of wasting your time now with words that aren't specifically tailored to you, I'll instead focus on something I do know. This class.
Many of you have had older siblings or cousins or even close friends that have been in this 8th grade social studies class. They may or may not have told you about things we do, topics we cover, and so on. I'd like to take this opportunity to inform you that this year will be different. Very different. After 10 years things were getting stale, and with the addition of Chromebooks we are now able to things otherwise unthinkable.
Let me be clear that different does not mean worse.
It does not mean less fun or meaningful or impactful.
Different means fresh. It means renewed energy. It surely means bumps in the road as well - it is not going to be smooth 100% of the time. That would be boring. Above all, it means that you will get to play an unspeakably important role in the development of this class. That is exciting and, hopefully, flattering. This is a year of change, and while I don't know you I have a feeling that you are up for the challenge.
Update: 08/27/14
I've been thinking a lot today about the concept of ownership. What it means to own something. When you own something it is yours. You are responsible for it. More often than not, you care for the things you own - be it a pair of Jordan's or an iPhone or a bike or guitar. You want to take care of it and you want to be sure it doesn't get ruined or lost. Another thing that people own is businesses. Business owners want their business to succeed and make money and they go to great lengths to make sure that happens. One aspect of that is hiring great employees. At this point you might be wondering what any of this has to do with school. Quite a bit, in all honesty. Education is your business. School is your workplace - and you are the owner of your education. As the owner of your education it is up to you to make sure you hire good employees. In that sense, for the next two days you will be going through the hiring process. There is a more detailed explanation here ( <--click that link).
To be clear - while you are going through this simulated hiring experiance, let's just all understand that I do already have this job, and while I do work for you there is a limit to the control you have. Just like a doctor or lawyer work for you - that doesn’t mean they need to listen to everything you say - they are the experts and you trust them to provide expert medical or legal advice - the same dynamic is at play here.
