What My Students Could Teach The DOE

I teach 7th grade students.  Our topic is Social Studies.

We begin the year with Concepts under which most of the curriculum fall.  One concept is Movement.

What they have to know: Movement or migration of people or ideas affects all societies involved.  Fine

It's 3rd period.  I ask how many students were NOT born in our town.  Half the hand raise.  I choose one young lady and I ask, "Why did YOU move to Dalton?"  I emphasize YOU, because I need for them to understand that some people move because they are forced to move (like children with their parents).  So I await the common wrong answer, because I like wrong answers more than right answers (that's when the learning happens).  She looks up at me.  Squints a little.  And within a second replies, "Fidel Castro."

Well...there goes my plan.  But teaching is an ART not a science.  So I stare at each face in my classroom.  Totally quiet for what must seem to them hours, but was really only about 5 seconds of glaring silence.  Then I whisper, "What was your answer?"

"Fidel Castro. I'm from Cuba."

They students learned about Castro's Cuba last year.  They had an idea.

So I asked how old she was.  "Little" she said.

My next class period, I teach her twin sister.  Wanting to find out more about the family without outright asking (it's an art, you know), I ask the same series of questions.  I get to the sister's seat.  "Why did YOU move to Dalton?"

Her reply, "Fidel, Mr. Murry."

The girls had not spoken to each other between classes.  It is who they are, who their family is, and they comprehend more about this concept of movement than most anyone from the DOE could possibly understand from an experiential level.

I thought the day would be a less emotionally charged in my final class.  I just had two heavy classes in a row.  But it was just the experience of one family.

Next period arrives, and I go through my happy-go-lucky pace of questioning.  "Who in this class moved here from somewhere else?" I query.

Half the hands raise.  It's the end of the day, and frankly, I a little exhausted, so I choose a girl up front.  I know her sisters, I taught one in Computer class 6 years ago.  I knew they were sweet kids, and have met their mother once.

"So, why did YOU move here? Tell the class, but be careful this could be seen as a trick question.  No one has answered correctly (based on the curriculum) yet today.  This is our last chance," I say as I draw the urgency of getting an easy correct answer.

"Saddam Hussein," She says.  "I'm Kurdish."

This was our Tuesday.

So the next day, I feel it is important to debrief my first two classes with what occurred.  Word had gotten out (they follow my Facebook posts with their parents), but I wanted to make sure my students knew who was next to them at their lockers.

My first class understood, as I told them we have living history in our midst.  Treat each other right.

Second period comes in.  I tell them the story, and I notice a young lady, who saw my post on Facebook the evening before, crying.  Not teary eyed - crying.  I asked if she was hurt.  No.  "Are you okay?"

"My parents, grandfather, and uncle came from Cuba in a small boat.  My uncle did not make it.  The sharks..." she told us.  I was born in Miami.

So I concluded my classes knowing that my kids' families have experience more than what they are expected to know.  There were some tears shed this week in class.

My mantra is louder than ever.  No matter what people will say, like math and reading are the most important subjects (those are the test scores that count), or we must compete globally in math and science or we will lose more ground in economic (social studies) dominance, I still maintain SOCIAL STUDIES IS THE MOST IMPORTANT SUBJECT WE CAN BE TEACHING THIS GENERATION. 

So I ended my classes by saying, "Social Studies isn't just a class you take, it is a matter of Life and Death and Survival.  Welcome to Mr. Murry's Class."

By the way, people move because they are forced (children, slaves, etc.), out of necessity (disasters), and for opportunities (jobs).  Kind of sound like low expectations all of a sudden, doesn't it?

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Coming Up This Week in Room 755

Friday the 13th of August was our first day of school.  It was a 1/2 day.  And frankly, it was a little messy.  Oh well.  As long as students got my invitation letter to their class's Parent Night, I'll be happy...and if they have their supplies on Monday.

Here's what coming this week.

Monday - I'll be introducing the class and some procedures for class.  They will also set up their Composition Books for the year. 

I always do something to demonstrate how I run my class.  I am gong to introduce the clip below - "It's the hard that makes it great" from Tom Hanks's speech to Geena Davis in A League of Their Own.  Teaching 7th grade (for 15 years now) I am seeing how important it is for students to understand that it does get more difficult to do well (or it should) in school.  But it is the hard work, the struggle, that will separate my students from the crowd (not just in our building, but in our region, state, and country).  I do expect my students to be different and behave differently.  So here's Tom Hanks to help. 

Tuesday - We'll begin looking at our connecting themes for the year.  The first one, and the one I come back to nearly every day, is Conflict leads to Change.  And generally speaking, change is what starts the conflict, so it is a cycle.  I do introduce a bigger hook, that it is their world to make a difference.  My generation messed it up, and their generation will have to clean it up.  Odd thing: I think they will do it.  I think our young generation will see through the stupidity of my generation (consumerism, status, environmental disregard, and testing to determine value) and change it.  If they don't...

Today, I'll let Adam Sandler help me introduce the concept of conflict.

Wednesday - Our second theme is Culture; what it is, what difference it makes in society.  This is always fun for me, because our school has had students who were born in over 50 countries around the world.  Traditions, religion, customs, cuisine, and language is something our students naturally understand.  We have a good time comparing the beauty and weirdness of our cultures and families.

I use Fools Rush In and My Big Fat Greek Wedding to compare and contrast cultures.

http://dms7ss.pbworks.com/Culture+-+Video+of+Mexican+and+Greek+Culture

Thursday - Students have an assignment early in the week to find out as much as they can about where their family is from (heritage), why they live in Dalton, and what brought their families to the region.  Today we look at Human-Environment Interaction, Location, and Movement as themes for the year.  This introduces them to the idea that people live where they live for a reason, at least when they have the freedom of movement.  This becomes a great hook when we look at Darfur, apartheid, Mao's China, and other times of closed societies.  No videos today.  I introduce rules for class discussions and reflections today.

Friday - The concept today is Governance.  We look at the wording of the Declaration of Independence and discuss why governance is important in society.  We learn throughout the year that when there is no governance chaos ensues.  People create chaos because the see opportunities for power.  Eventually, the citizens get tired of the fighting, killing, and unrest and (in the countries we study) generally cave in to tyrants.

I'll draw something like I did in this video.

That should make for a busy and rewarding first week.

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My Biggest Post Ever - Why Teachers Should Friend Students on Facebook

On January 18, 2010 I posted Why Teachers Should 'Friend' Students on Facebook.

It has had over 10,000 visits, counting my Posterous and two Blogspot blogs.  It started (or continued) a conversation about the relationships between teachers and students.

Yesterday, was the third anniversary of John's untimely death.  His friends, and yes me too, miss him.  When I saw some of his friends (my son was one of them) post remembrances on the Facebook status, I had to take a break, a deep breath, wipe away a tear, and say a prayer for his mom and dad as well as his sister and brother (both of whom I taught).

As I prepare for the new school year, I have asked former students to help me as I am doing something for the first time.  I am having Parent Nights for each of my five classes; kind of a private open house.  I will need translators to communicate with many of the parents.  I went to Facebook, asked for help in my status update, then sent Private Messages to a few former students.  The response is overwhelming.  Remember, I teach middle school, so there are a few years that separate my time with the ones I have asked. So, I wasn't sure anyone would be willing to help a teacher they haven't seen in 5-10 years.

Students who have graduated college are coming to help me.  Students are helping before they go back to college.  Students are willing to drive from over an hour away to help me too.  Then I had two high school seniors who asked what they could do to help.

When we as teachers see that our students are people who will contribute now, and stop with the "they have potential" sentiment, then we will make the differences we hope to see in our schools.  Thanks Facebook, for helping me (daily) recall that education is about relationships, not just curriculum.

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test-to class page

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Posted via email from Room 755