introducing ms. humm (subtitled: i've got soul, but i'm not a soldier)

may i formally introduce you to ms. humm, born august 17th following a brief escapade as miss courtney. ms. humm closely resembles one court/ courtney with her loud, booming voice, extreme enthusiasm and obsession with music. however, a foul mouth and occasionally dirty dance moves do not characterize this new identity. ms. humm may also be known as “mrs. humm” (an especially frightening misnomer) or “the hot new teacher” (possibly equally disturbing). though it has always been my goal to maintain the same identity across roles/ boundaries, i have been known to use the “teacher stare” once or twice (according to my kids). sadly, i am also sporadically mistaken by teachers and students as a high schooler. the other day i was looking through my gradebook and a colleague approached me from the side, "whose gradebook is that?!" "uh, mine."while a member of ms. humm's class you might be referred to as a change agent, a.k.a. a member of the relatively small educated class in the world's population that is responsible for critically questioning and revolutionizing society when necessary. you may also be asked to teach the "dance move of the day" during our short dance parties that punctuate 120-minute class periods. or you might just have to take on the persona of frederick douglass or tecumseh in historical charades, interpret the brillant lyrics of dave matthews' in the context of the indian removal policy of 1830, or debate from the perspective of a landlord or a female factory worker in the industrial revolution. but, no matter what, if you're my student, you'd better look alive.

you may know that i dream of rock stardom. "rockin' it" for an audience and feeding off of their energy. however, while i was teaching economics i realized that teaching is just like being a rock star. allow me to explain. we've all been to concerts when the performer is unaware of the audience and trudges through the concert like a soldier. the audience derives no real fulfillment and the singer appears to hate his/her life. simply stated, it sucks. but we have also experienced those amazing concerts when the band and audience are feeding off of each other's energy. the dynamic in the arena is indescribable, everyone can't help but feel a part of something amazing. my love for music and concerts has made me a crowd member for much of my life. but for the first time, during my economics class today, i felt like the rockstar-- full of vigor and feeding off the excitement of the students. cyclically, they became increasingly engaged and enlivened as well. you can go to work every morning, unenthused and unaware of your students, coworkers, whoever. and that's when kids are annoying and everything in the world is irritating (especially loud chewing and sniffly noses in the teacher's lounge). or you can go to work each day filled with energy and passion that can't help but arouse everyone around you.

classes like that feed my soul, affirming my decision to teach. georgie, one of my students, took the picture of me teaching economics. when she handed me my camera, she said, "i don't know how the pictures turned out, but i left a present for you" (included below). how can moments like that not feed my soul?