During week three, I started actually giving lessons, and it hit differently than preparing them. Even though I had spent the past two weeks researching, designing materials, and consulting teachers, I still pulled an all-nighter before the first session and came in massively overprepared. I did not even get to start the second handout because there was so much to work through. But honestly, I would rather have too much material than too little. In the lead-up, I also reconnected with some of my old teachers, whom I have stayed in touch with to get advice on how to actually run a classroom, which helped more than any planning document could. The biggest takeaway from this week is how hard it is to hold the attention of high school teenagers for any extended stretch. You can see it in real time: which parts land, which parts lose them, what gets a reaction, and what falls flat. I adjusted as the week went on, cutting things that did not work and leaning into what did. Watching students genuinely engage with the Baltic content made the whole project feel worth it.
LiA Week 3 - Overprepped and Overjoyed
Week three of "Baltic Sea for Young People: from classroom lessons to scalable impact" - the lessons finally started.