Goertz Thoughts

I like being a teacher. However, it can be hard to let students go at the end of the year, especially the seniors. I'll get over it. Here are a few thoughts from the last day (5/26) of our 2017 class. One of the interesting things about having a composite science certification (meaning that Texas recognizes my ability to teach any high school science class) is that the classes I teach can change from year to year. Two years ago, I taught many of our just finished senior class in chemistry. Just regular chemistry, not PreAP and not IPC. Still, it was great to see so many returning faces this past year when I taught primarily senior classes. David Kim made an amazing tribute video for the senior class. You should watch it. Good pranks this year. Nothing destructive, just mildly annoying. For example, my science prep room was lined with cups filled with water. That's my mobile desk in the middle I was also given the following teacher superlative: I just realized ...

So, I've been under pressure from seniors to start a blog. They said they will read it and as a teacher, I can't pass up any excuse to get students to read. Since this is the last week for seniors, I'm going to focus on the last few things I want them to know before they graduate. However, these are good lessons for everyone. In class, I often use the phrase "If there's one thing I can teach you before you graduate...". Some have pointed out that the "one thing" changes daily, but that's fine. They can all be the one. So here's a top 10 list of advice for graduating seniors. 1. No one can force you to do anything.     Life is all about choices. Just because you don't like the alternatives doesn't rob you of your ability to choose. 2. High school is not the best time of your life.     You've just begun to live. If these were the best years, that would be a sad life. College (while fun) is also not the best time of your...