Journal 7: Trent Swisher

The Hobart Shakespearians is a documentary about a teacher and his class at Hobart Elementary in California. Mr. Rafe has a very unique was of teaching and connecting with his students, even at such a young age. This made me think about the teachers I had in elementary school. It made me realize how different they were compared to him and I began to wonder if I would've learned better or enjoyed school more if I had a teacher like Mr. Rafe at that age. I personally feel like the connection Mr. Rafe had and his teaching style is very important in how his students behaved and learned. He was supportive in not only their academics but also in their future and life outside of school He wanted to make sure they learned while at the same time to know what it means to be yourself and to find your purpose.

I love Shakespeare so the fact that he was reading all these stories and writings with his elementary students blows my mind because I didn't start reading Shakespeare until my sophomore year. I really enjoyed how he used the themes of the stories and applied those to real world situations of his student lives. I plan on being a high school English teacher and I think applying school to real world scenarios or applying real world scenarios to school is ideal in having a breakthrough with your students. After watching this documentary, even though I would be teaching high school, it made me think about the kind of teaching style I would use or attempt to use. In the documentary, Rafe said "The real measure of teaching is where are these kids going to be five to ten years from now." That really stood out to me and made me realize teaching is about much more than who they are now, it's also about how you can help your students reach their full potential in the future.

Overall, I think this was a very good documentary. It was really nice to see a teacher who shows how much he cares about his students. You could tell it wasn't just about them getting good grades because that wasn't the only thing that was important to him. He genuinely cares for his students and shows that will full support in and out of the classroom, something I believe teachers should do more of.

My personal goal for the next year is to do something I always wanted to do which is to vacation in California. I want to see it all, the Redwood Forest, the Hollywood Sign, L.A., literally ALL of it. Some sacrifices I would have to make is to work a lot more than what I already do and to save up money which is hard considering I am living on my own. I may have some sacrifices but nothing worth having comes easy.