bpc . . .

I was invited (actually, they asked for a graduate student and I was available) to give a presentation today on Mesopotamia to two 6th grade humanities classes at Black Pine Circle elementary school. Black Pine Circle is a socratic school, so it was much less a lecture and much more interactive . . . just the kind of pedagogy I enjoy.

Amazingly, they've been covering the ancient world over the last two months and apparently will continue to do so for at least the next several weeks . . . they've spent the last few weeks focusing particularly on Mesopotamia . . . when I was in sixth grade, we probably spent a total of two class periods on the whole ANE . . .

Naturally, my presentation focused on cuneiform and I tried to embed it within an experience of life in the eduba. So we had a grand time exploring the difficulties of a logographic/syllabic/polyphonous/homophonous writing system. I even got to introduce them to lexical lists . . .

I have to say that I was extremely impressed with these kids. Based on their homework, I can tell that they're doing things way beyond what I did at their age. Moreover, they were extremely bright--grasping concepts and asking insightful questions . . . More importantly, they seemed to really enjoy this stuff . . . here's hoping I've managed to "plant seeds" for at least one future Assyriologist . . .

As a wanna-be teacher, I had a blast, because it was very obvious that these kids really got into it. I think I've convinced at least a few of them to start calling their fathers 'adda', their friends 'gu-li', their older brothers 'šeš-gal' and themselves 'dub-sar' (I allowed them to graduate . . . ) . . . personally, the whole experience was both exhilarating and exhausting.

Exhilarating because I'd forgotten how much I enjoy teaching. I was a bit hesitant about this at first because it has been several years since I'd taught this age group . . . heck, it's been a while since I've had a chance to teach. However, the great thing about teaching kids is how well they soak up information and how excited they are about learning new things . . . particularly new (as in interesting and unexperienced) and old (as in ancient) things. It was exhilarating because this was the first time I've actually gotten to teach on Mesopotamia and cuneiform in particular. I feel strange saying this, but it was almost more of a rush teaching these kids about cuneiform than teaching adults Hebrew . . .

It was exhausting because kids simply are exhausting . . . especially in a socratic learning environment. I love that pedagogical style, but it can lend itself to a bit of chaos at times . . . it was a good chaos, because in the midst of it, I could tell that the kids were, for the most part, interacting with each other regarding their questions. It was exhausting because it was two double periods . . . so two classes of an hour and a half each . . . the most I had ever taught before was a two-hour block, so this was long for me . . . especially since I don't need to talk too much when sitting at a desk most of the day doing research. . . . It was also a tad exhausting because I'd forgotten how much work preparing a lesson plan requires . . . even on a subject I know fairly well . . .

In short, good times. This may be something I'll get the opportunity to do every year, so that should be a good gig. It's also reminded me that I honestly can't wait until my teaching requirement begins in a couple years . . . I know, that sounds a bit crazy in the midst of things, but it's half the reason I'm in this field. . . . I think I've succeeded in sparking interest in the subject I find fascinating, and as a teacher, I really don't think I could ask for more . . .