Congratulations! If you're reading this, you have made it to the end of this thing we call INQ!
Each INQ class presents unique challenges: how can we aid the transition from high school? how can we prepare students for the academic challenges that await them beyond the first semester? how can we not just teach them the tools of success but let them experience success? This last one is so important to me. For example, I can tell students how to manage time or ask them to read articles on it or have them fill out worksheets on it, but until they truly experience juggling lots of tasks for a specific deadline, then they don't know how they personally react or how best to manage it themselves. And all students are different and have to figure out what works on their own. INQ is all about whatever the students bring to the class, the ways they seek to meet the challenges, and the personal results that each individual student takes away from the experience as a whole.
Here, at the end of the semester, I am proud of my students' many accomplishments, but I know that I can't take credit for them. They are not my accomplishments; like everything else in INQ, they belong to the students.
But I do want to acknowledge those accomplishments:
I have seen students gain confidence in blogging, writing entries that were fluid, fun to read, and creative, not just fulfilling assignments. I have seen students come up with creative titles, themes that carry through the semester of blogging, and openers and closers that make the writing professional.
I have also seen students master lots of technology, from embedding videos in blogs to using iMovie and Windows Movie Maker to converting files into various formats. In the videos, I have also seen creativity, humor, professionality, engaging openers and thoughtful closers.
I have seen students become engaged in classroom discussion, even some who didn't want to talk or felt shy in the beginning of the semester. I saw students go from not understanding what "college level thinking" was to becoming the questioners, the ones who pushed the envelope in class discussion.
I have seen students distinguish themselves, capitalize on their strengths and present their work and ideas with pride and confidence. But this skill didn't come at the expense of others, since I saw much support and camaraderie among students instead of competition. I saw students give feedback because they knew what they were talking about but gave it in constructive, helpful ways.
The first semester is not an easy semester, and INQ is not an easy class (in some ways), but at the end of it all, I see many students showing me that they're prepared for the coming semesters, that they know what to expect and how to achieve their goals.
Over the winter break, take time to relax, reflect, and rejuvenate. Also take stock of all your growth and accomplishments, and make a plan to push yourself even further next semester. This semester is just the start of something much bigger.
