Humble pie doesn't taste all that good

And I was looking forward to sitting in that student seat again. What was I thinking??? Today I was on sensory overload as we sat through classroom instruction, exercises, more classroom instruction, interviews, writing our first article, editing our first photo to accompany our first article, and finishing up with a meeting about our eventual online newspaper. Oh, and did I mention volunteering to be one of the editors of that newspaper? I should do the video assignment on how this heat has affected my brain.

But really, the whole experience so far has been an opportunity to reflect on my expectations for newspaper students. Ouch! This is the proverbial "walk in someone else's shoes" situation where I am learning by doing, and gaining a real appreciation for all that my students are able to do in the short bursts of time we have together each week. The intense nature of deadlines in a short period of time has brought back ancient memories of how difficult studying was, and apparently still is, for me (just look at the time this is being posted) which again helped me gain insight into how overbearing I have been with some of my students who don't work quickly.

The Institute is truly a humbling experience for this writer, and I am really glad to be a part of it even though it doesn't feel all that great. The best part are truly colleagues who have proven to be supportive and collaborative. Thanks to all and good night. Finally!

Nicki Yokota
St. Margaret's Episcopal School
San Juan Capistrano, CA