Chapter 1: Stroking the Fires Within

Chapter 1: Stroking the Fires Within
This chapter was quite interesting because Rick Wormeli talked about the joys of teaching middle school, how to teach middle school, and most importantly to be very proud of your job. Rick talked a lot about how great it is to teach middle school because the students really want to learn, and you can have such a great time working with them. He talks about how students will joke with him or give him a slap on the back when things go well or even rest their heads on his shoulder when he reviews their work. I thought a great part of the chapter was when he talked about how it is vitally important to just listen to your students; too many teachers want to just do their job and leave instead of sitting there and listening to their students when they need things or just need a person to listen to them. Rick also spoke a lot about how important teaching is as a profession, and how we should all remember that we have a worthy profession. He talks a lot about how some people think teachers are only the “rejects” that couldn’t get a better job – sadly, for their sake, I hope their kids get good teachers in life.

In the end, I thought the beginning was the best because he spoke about how important it is to teach students – too many people think that teaching is an easy job that takes little effort, but that really is not true. It is also important for teachers to not be afraid to admit what their occupation is. After reading the first chapter, I got more interested in teaching middle school because he makes it sound like such a great job. When he describes his students, you can truly realize that they actually want to be there in school, and actually enjoy him as a teacher and as a person – I think that in high school you can run into students who don’t really want to be there or who really do not like you; that can be quite depressing and frustrating. I’m looking forward to the other chapters; maybe he will completely win me over for the middle school job.