Education

Battles with self-confidence often start early in life, most often in adolescence.  In this commentary, high school student Maya Litauer shares how a middle-school friendship first challenged her self-esteem, then helped her find it.

Have you ever had to command the attention of three dozen teenagers? It’s not easy. Especially when you’re still learning how to be a teacher.

“Classroom management, it’s about control,” says Oakland High School student teacher Diana Arbas. “Control of the students, sure, but it’s about control of self. It’s about demonstrating to them how an adult behaves.”

Diana, 27, is learning to lead in the classroom with the help of her Coordinating Teacher, or CT. She has felt a sense of responsibility to her students from the beginning. But, by December, when we last heard from Diana, she was ready for a break.

High school students are looking for material that they can relate to. In this commentary, student Frances Saux from the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts in San Francisco realizes she's not connecting with her work as much as she could and that there's a specific reason why.