Geek Out!
This week I got some pretty killer news, but first the preamble.
English teachers are a geeky bunch. Most of us spend our summers reading books and thinking about how we can improve our classes for the fall. Some of the really geeky ones spend the summers at conferences with other English teachers. I've done this by way of AP Trainings and the ilk. I dig it.
The geekiest of the English teachers want to read essays all summer. I am one of these most geeky of geek teachers. Several years ago, I decided that I wanted to be an AP Literature Reader. What does this mean? Well, the AP Lit test is given the first week of May each year (in the Northern Hemisphere). The exams, with all of the handwritten essays that threatened to melt the brains of so many students are then shipped to the AP Central hub, sorted, and wrapped in plastic shrink wrap to prevent tampering. Then, in the second week of June, English teachers converge on Louisville, Kentucky, for the reading. The shrink wrap is broken and the essays are scored.
At the reading, there are thousands and thousands of people reading essay after essay. These most geeky of geek English teachers come from all over the world. Most teach AP Lit, but some are college professors. They all sit in a room, on horrible metal folding chairs, around plastic folding tables, and read essays. All of the essays are on the same topic. They read these essays for eight hours a day for seven days. It sounds like fun right?
Well, Monday, I got the e-mail that I have wanted for nearly five years. I have been invited to be an AP Literature Reader!
I just need to work out the travel details, and then I'll be even more excited. As it is, I'm just so happy to be recognized as worthy and able to do the job of a Reader. In the AP world, there is a bit of mystique surrounding the Readers and there is respect that goes along with the title too. It's kind of a way of saying to all of those parents who think I'm too young to be a good teacher, or that you must have kids of your own to be a good teacher to go take a long hike off a short cliff.
Happy Trails!
English teachers are a geeky bunch. Most of us spend our summers reading books and thinking about how we can improve our classes for the fall. Some of the really geeky ones spend the summers at conferences with other English teachers. I've done this by way of AP Trainings and the ilk. I dig it.
The geekiest of the English teachers want to read essays all summer. I am one of these most geeky of geek teachers. Several years ago, I decided that I wanted to be an AP Literature Reader. What does this mean? Well, the AP Lit test is given the first week of May each year (in the Northern Hemisphere). The exams, with all of the handwritten essays that threatened to melt the brains of so many students are then shipped to the AP Central hub, sorted, and wrapped in plastic shrink wrap to prevent tampering. Then, in the second week of June, English teachers converge on Louisville, Kentucky, for the reading. The shrink wrap is broken and the essays are scored.
At the reading, there are thousands and thousands of people reading essay after essay. These most geeky of geek English teachers come from all over the world. Most teach AP Lit, but some are college professors. They all sit in a room, on horrible metal folding chairs, around plastic folding tables, and read essays. All of the essays are on the same topic. They read these essays for eight hours a day for seven days. It sounds like fun right?
Well, Monday, I got the e-mail that I have wanted for nearly five years. I have been invited to be an AP Literature Reader!
I just need to work out the travel details, and then I'll be even more excited. As it is, I'm just so happy to be recognized as worthy and able to do the job of a Reader. In the AP world, there is a bit of mystique surrounding the Readers and there is respect that goes along with the title too. It's kind of a way of saying to all of those parents who think I'm too young to be a good teacher, or that you must have kids of your own to be a good teacher to go take a long hike off a short cliff.
Happy Trails!
Comments
Post a Comment