A Snowy SYP
A report from student-teacher, Patrick D.
As I watched the snow-covered buses leave Kenwood Parkway to take students back home after another fun-filled SYP, I could still see the smiles in my mind. I could hear the stories in Advisory, the cheers in ASM, and the laughter when another teacher and I debated whether 27 or 48 was a better number. (For the record, it’s 48. Look at all those factors!) While it’s definitely a Challenge by Choice to live here during the winter, Minnesota’s returning chill did not dampen our student’s spirits.
The winter SYPs always impress me most. It takes real resolve to go to school on a Saturday when it hurts to go outside because of the cold, and it takes even more determination to be so enthusiastic about it. I don’t think I could have talked on a stage or so eagerly participated in an improv session when I was in middle school!
Even when I think that I have power as a teacher, when I write math equations on the whiteboard and talk in a commanding teacher voice, the students are really in control. They choose to come to SYP, and they choose to listen to me. (Which is really humbling.) We, as teachers, only provide the lessons. We can show students the path, but the students have to follow it even if it is now covered with snow.
As the novelty of the beginning of school wears off, and more difficult work begins, it’s good to see that the students are still so eager to learn. As the buses left Kenwood Pkwy I had another thought: “I can’t wait for SYP again!”
