Friday was the final day of 1st quarter. It was also the penultimate game for our freshman soccer team. Both of those events are occasions for another reflection on teaching and related. If interested in my observations, which will use those as a starting point for broader reflection, please keep reading. If not, my feelings will not be hurt if you move on without leaving any evidence of having stopped by.
I will start with soccer. IF my memory is correct, after our 4-2 win over the Junior Varsity of Sidwell Friends (meaning some of the opposing players were sophomores and bigger and faster than many of ours) our record is now 4 wins, 4 losses, and two ties. That record is somewhat disappointing, and with just a few breaks could have been 7-2-1. The two goals we gave up, one on a PK and the other on the only corner kick we conceded, were both the ultimate result of 2 of our four defensive lapses in the game. Regardless of the score, we dominated the game because for only the 2nd time this year we got our players to do what we wanted — play with your heads up, move the ball on one or two touch passes, move to open spaces, follow shots for rebounds, etc. The first time we had done that, we had won 8-4, all four goals against coming as the result of defensive mistakes. Friday we well could have scored ten and should have scored 7, but perhaps the best player on the other team was their goalie. Four different players scored, the players showed more maturity and with one exception more team spirit that we have seen. What was most satisfying as coaches was to see them mature — as players, teammates, and young men. That was something nice to have at the end of the quarter.
I have a couple of students who are allowed to turn in missing work on Monday before I post my grades. At DeMatha we require a 65 in order to pass. I have 130 students. I have 3 who will fail the first quarter, in each case because of not turning in work, even despite being given multiple chances to make up for at least partial credit missing assignments. One is a student whom all of his teachers recognize has some real issues about learning. The other two are seniors who should know better. I know by talking with other staff members that this 1st quarter phenomenon is not uncommon among seniors. Hopefully we will now have their attention, and we can see real improvement — as we have among many of their classmates — as the school year continues.
As a teacher, that is part of what is key for me. Whatever a student can do when he enters my room, if he cannot do more at the end of his time with me that time has been wasted. I may bear some responsibility for not having found a way of reaching that student, but we expect our seniors to be able to demonstrate real responsibility for their learning. And as a teacher, my model has never been prying open their heads and pouring knowledge in, even as we cover a great amount of material. I want them engaged with the material I am teaching government, and those so inclined will almost all be able to vote in the Maryland Democratic primary this Spring while still 17, provided they will be 18 on election day in 12 ½ months.
I am fortunate to be in a school where I am given more flexibility than I have ever had before as a teacher. That also places a great responsibility on me, because if a lesson is not successful it is entirely my fault. While I have a general sense of pacing and the end points I wish to reach in my two preps, I plan largely week to week, so I can make adjustments to take into account what is happening, while still allowing time to include things in the news that I think they should understand. Thus all of my classes got around 5-10 minutes on the importance of Elijah Cummings when he passed away. As it happens, I have at least 2 students who were his constituents.
As I plan and I instruct, I have to balance several things. I am not preparing students for external tests, which gives me more flexibility. In fact, much of my “assessment” is not traditional testing at all. It is papers, miniprojects, open book quizzes, etc. There is basic material that I feel they must know. But I also want what happens in their schoolwork to be relevant to their lives. Most do not watch tv news or read newspapers (even online). I have to take some time to direct their attention to things happening around them that might have large impacts on their lives, on the world into which they will move as they leave our school family. And I absolutely must provide time and space for them to explore topics that have caught their interest. Sometimes such a topic might be too far removed to spend class time on, so I will provide the student an opportunity to explore for individual extra credit. On other occasions I will clear class time to allow for whole class exploration.
I gave an opportunity for an extra credit essay in my two honors classes last week. We explored in class the notion of occasions where for any reason we might find it necessary to violate an important principle. It might be that we had two principles in conflict. We might need a job, we might feel an obligation to protect someone. I modeled by explaining that while as a Quaker I would not use physical violence to protect myself I would not hesitate to use if necessary lethal force to protect my wife or the students entrusted to my care (although given that I have three 300 pound plus football players in one class it is more likely they would be protecting me!). I had about 1/3 of my 58 Honors students who did that essay, and some of the efforts were quite moving, and more than a little unexpected. It is things like this that make teaching adolescents so rewarding.
As a teacher of government, I feel obligated to stay absolutely current on what is happening in our political environment. That makes for a fair amount of anger, depression, frustration…. I am sure to those reading these words at Daily Kos I do not need to recapitulate all of the news events that contribute to those states of mind. At age 73, there are time when I would like to simply throw up my hands, withdraw from related issues and spend time reading, playing with my cat, going to dinner with my wife, listening to and playing music, and related. We do not have children, so in theory that might reduce some sense of obligation for the future. But my wife has multiples of both nieces/nephews and godchildren, and one reason I am still in a secondary classroom more than 7 years after retiring and starting Social Security is that we both feel an obligation to the future. For both of us we must accept the reality that our energy levels are not what they were a decade ago. In my wife’s case, we have the reality of her blood cancer, and health issues are at this point an ongoing part of my life, including 10 pills a day and a stent in my aorta. We are trying to balance our sense of obligation to the future and a strong desire to do and see things and places before either of us is no longer able to do so. We have the additional constraints of the financial burdens incurred as a result of our health crises over the past almost 8 years.
My principal stopped by and observed a class a bit more than a week ago. He offered some thoughtful observations, and said he would like to stop by again. It was the 2nd time he had stopped by. The first time I was showing a video, so he had not much to observe. This time was a lesson on political cartoons, using historical cartoons going back to Ben Franklin’s famous “Join or Die” from the 1750s. We talked about the elements of cartoons, the images portrayed, the impact the cartoons had had, how well known images were repurposed: on this last I gave two examples, one of using American Gothic to make a point about the Reagans and another taking the image of Slim Pickens as Col. Kong riding a bomb down in Dr. Strangelove repurposed as LBJ and Humphrey riding a bomb down. It was a lesson that held the attention of the students, and we also talked about the sources of political humor they saw (not by and large political cartoons).
As a result of his comments, I know that I want every lesson to be something that would make sense to someone walking into my classroom without needing an extensive explanation.
I am lucky that almost all of my students trust me enough to go into unknown territory, believing that I have a purpose that will become clear to them. That helps me as a teacher.
Thinking about that, there was when I was young a similar attitude by the vast majority of the American people towards their governmental leaders. Over the past 6 decades I have seen that trust eroded for a variety of reasons, such erosion accelerating as some politicians use fear and anger to try to diminish trust in political opponents as a means of obtaining or keeping power. Our political system, our democracy, our nation are thereby diminished both in the eyes of the American people and in the respect offered by those from other nations in our ever shrinking world where we are decreasingly able to isolate ourselves from what happens elsewhere — our ever more diverse population is one clear indication of that.
My lessons for the next week are largely planned. I have no papers to grade. I actually have some time to myself today.
The school year goes on. One quarter down, one to go. One more soccer game on Wednesday and that season is over. My obligations as a coach adds about 3 hours to each school day. When those obligations end, I may be able to comment more here on politics and related.
If you have read this far, I thank you, and offer my hope that something you read was of value to you.
Peace.