October 7, 2011
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The Daily News
1 With the passing of Steve Jobs, I fell behind on some of my follow-ups.
2 The other day I reported that I had to deal with a "chatty" group in class.
3 I decided to honor a request from other class members and call the noisy ones out.
4 They served themselves up on a bit of a platter, because at the very beginning of class I brought up a couple of issues that needed addressing. No point in letting an elephant have his way in a room.
5 Ironically, the second I brought up the issue of rudeness, the same group began chiming, shucking, jiving, and talking. What are the odds?
6 I instantly moved them, gave a quick talk about rudeness and tardiness, and began my lesson.
7 The class became agonizingly quiet.
8 It's the old "Be careful what you wish for..." thing.
9 Naturally, yesterday the same guys came in and instantly tested me by sitting back in their other seats. I called them out again, and re-located them. I sensed anger and resentment coming from their corner, but they had been divided and conquered pretty handily.
10 I began my lesson, realizing that I stood in front of the class at a lecturn and was doing everything that the newer studies in education declare as certain doom: lecturing intelligent stuff, making sure that everything being said was nothing but facts, speaking with no personality, no interaction, and no humor.
11 After about two minutes of this ridiculousness, I put the students back into groups and had them select a person to go to the board and write the answers to a worksheet I had given the day prior.
12 I told the noisemakers that since I wasn't lecturing, that they could work with their groups.
13 The atmosphere changed abruptly. The class seemed back to normal, with a little socializing mixed with the answers going up to the board. I had built-in visuals in various colors popping off the white board. The entire class relaxed and all was normal. Nigel sat in front, smiling. Nigel's a bear. He's cool. He hurt his arm last year.
14 It occurred to me that I seldom hear noises coming from many classrooms in the school, as though pure silence is needed in order for lessons to be learned.
15 I am SO used to class activities, music, timing, humor, laughter and all that it almost felt that the students who complained were just used to learning being a passive thing, and that students who act like normal teenagers are out of hand.
16 I went through that phase at one point a long time ago, and got over it rather quickly. What's interesting is that I taught a lot of what they now call "support" classes over the years. I taught a lot of students who had issues with "mainstream" classes, many of whom were just as intelligent as my honors kids, but who also had rebellious streaks and wiseguy attitudes.
17 At one point, YB continually gave me those guys because I was purportedly really good at handling them. And I was. But it was also WAY more challenging than teaching the high achievers.
18 On the good end, I would always see more progress than a lot of other teachers. It drove me crazy having those guys year-after-year, but I learned a lot of subtle techniques in the process.
19 Humor, genuineness, high-interest topics (ghosts, JFK, Romeo and Juliet put on a psyciatric couch, the Arthurian legend, etc.) and a respect for the intelligence of all students always left me feeling at the end of the year that I provided not just a bunch of lecturing blather, but rather genuine memories, good times, and a safe place for all my students.
20 So the Great Move-People experiment turned out exactly as I thought it would. I now have a faction of that class that is resentful and almost rebellious. It will take a week or two to remain consistent. I will need to ignore the resentment and teach the same way I have always taught: with humor, laughter, music, and a degree of fun.
21 In a way, it was certainly an interesting experiment. In my younger days, I'd get little notes now and again that certain people in my class needed to be called on the carpet, which is always true, and you will always have a few who do. You'll also occasionally have a student or a group of students who get fed up with my patience with rudeness. I have actually seen people at faculty meetings ruder than a lot of my students, and I watch how others handle things. Sometimes it's just a hyper day. We all know this about meetings. The same is true of classrooms.
22 But I've SEEN the toughest hombres life can send a teacher, only to find that the vast majority of them have good hearts, nice families, and people who love them.
23 For me, a teacher should never teach a class; rather, he or she should conduct a class like a symphony. There should be as much beauty and change as one would find in a work of Mozart, and while it should contain some structure, it should also contain rhythm, swing, soul, tension and repose.
24 And occasional discord.
25 At this point in my career, I think I know better than a fifteen-year old how to do the job.
26 Yesterday I subbed for my good friend Gemma. Her class was a bit chatty, but overall pretty good. At one point, some guy yelled out something because he needed to act out, and I just ignored the guy. As soon as he realized that his stuff just made him look like an idiot, he settled back into doing his work. I didn't need to say a word.
27 A student of mine from last year said from the back of the room, "Mr. H, how can you put up with some of these guys? I mean our class last year was never like this!"
28 The class then fell eerily silent. I looked over my glasses, tossed my eyes to the left, then to the right, then said, "It's a marathon, not a sprint."
29 I gave a knowing smile of a guy who clearly has been there, and got back to grading some papers. The class was respectful and charming the rest of the period.
30 I've said for a while now that I see teaching as an art. It takes really careful planning, quick reflexes, humor, and often attention to detail: bringing in subtle music, knowing when to switch-up the lesson when it clearly isn't working, realizing that not every student is going to worship you, and knowing that a few will never like you.
31 And realizing that it is all a means to an end. Ten years from now a whole bunch of them won't even remember my name. Others will be a part of my soul for the remainder of my life. And I a part of theirs.
32 It's all in the game.
33 Great week.
34 Somewhere in all the madness, a lesson was learned.
35 Maybe two or three.
36 Maybe none.
37 Gottago now.
38 Enjoy the rain.
39 Peace.
~H~
