School 2021. A return to ... well, not normal.​
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The future is simply one big adventure. None of us can see what this year will be like. But one thing remains clear: There are a lot of things in life out of your control. But, there is a lot in life that is simply up to you. What you get out depends on what you put in. As another famous teacher once said, "I am trying to free your mind. But I can only show you the door; you're the one who has to walk through it."
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So, here's your invitation.
The door is in front of you. I am beside you, and
I'm ready to walk with you on this journey.
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Why bother? Maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to
free your mind up to think and speak (and write)
and even argue about things that matter to you.
Maybe this will be the year you both find your
voice, and decide to make it heard. The world,
after all, is pretty messed up. If left alone it will
get worse, not better (that's called entropy and
it's a law of science). But then ... if you want
things to be better, it's up to you to say so. It's time for everyone to lift up their voice and ... sing, shout, speak out, stand up, encourage, heal, hold accountable, and laugh.
But then, it's up to you what you can and will do. You see, I can only show you the door. And here it is ...
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Welcome to our classroom
Hi, I am Dr. Roger T. Schellenberg ... but you can call me Mr. S.
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After 30 years teaching outside of the public school systems, I am teaching in a new kind of classroom. Ours. In the past I have taught classes at a local graduate school as an Adjunct Professor, I’ve worked with adults and teens in enrichment classes, lead national workshops, and I have also taught a weekly class of 4-10 year olds. My doctoral work was in developmental psychology and learning theory, an area that allows me to look for new and creative ways to teach so that everyone in the class (sooner or later) “gets it.”
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That's the goal for our classroom. Working together, we can help everyone "get it." Because "getting it" is the first step to "getting ahead."
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I joined FCPS almost 10 years ago. Today, I am here to help you master the material the school has for you. I am here to serve, to help. That means, I am not the enemy. The SOL’s are not the enemy. Homework is not the enemy. Ignorance is. I am also here to be your coach and your scorekeeper. I will coach you along so you can master the material in this course, and I will also keep score of how well you are learning what is presented.
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Since mastery is our goal, it’s not how often you try, and take a risk, and maybe fail to accomplish a task; you are not being timed to see how fast you can get it. What matters is that before you are done you learn to master the work. If I were coaching you in the high jump as a track coach, it would not matter that it took you 12 tries to get over the bar, but that you learned how to do it, and could jump at that height in the future. The same thing goes for writing a sentence. What matters is not how many times you wrote something and failed, but that in the end you have learned how to write better and express yourself that matters.
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This is an English class, but it is more than that. In here you will be asked to do more than learn about semicolons and spelling. Instead, you will set out on an epic journey to a new promised land. Along the way you will meet many characters, some fictional, some real; you will have to grapple with essential questions about who you are and what your life will become; there will be mountains to climb and some valleys of darkness when you think you are not up to the challenge, and yet, like any good quest, there will be chances to use the unique tools you have at hand to reason and write, to speak and persuade, to express yourself (even as you learn how others have expressed themselves).
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At the end of the journey, I hope you will have discovered your voice, and decided to use it to speak out about what matters to you.
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Get ready. The adventure begins here and now.
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