| The Schechter Saga, Book 2, Chapter 7 | for everyone |
Friday night we attended a performance of "Jersey Boys" at the Fox. We had seen it before but enjoyed it enough to do it again when it was part of the package this season. If anything, this time it was better. Why? Because the show not only played to a packed house, but an involved, enthusiastic packed house that had the theater rocking and rolling.
What, you may ask, does this have to do with Schechter? It got me thinking about the frustrating year I've spent with my 8th graders. Were they smart? Absolutely. Were they well behaved? No complaints there. Was their work and work ethic acceptable? Yes, that and more. Were they involved with their learning? Not so much.
Last year I compared teaching the 8th grade with "herding cats." I've decided cats was the wrong analogy, because that crew was, for the most part, neither aloof nor apathetic. But I prefer them to this year's group, smug, self-satisfied in their level of knowledge (or ignorance, depending upon your point of view) and generally apathetic about the acquisition of knowledge. Two examples: They were offered the chance to Skype with the "Space Rabbi," the man who helps Jewish astronauts with some of the special challenges they face maintaining their religion in space. No assignment, just watch and listen on the Smart Board™, but they passed. Monday I asked if they wanted to see any video or audio on the horrific tornado that struck Joplin. No,thanks, we'll just sit. As someone who views teaching as performance art, this audience wore me out and makes glad that the run ends next week.
It's tough to perform when you have an audience that just sits there. When it's so small (just 5 girls if they're all here) and often dominated by an intimidating classmate who's impossible to please.... I'll have to talk to a friend who performs in small shows in front of small houses to see if she has shared that frustration.
I need to feed off my audience and these girls were little more than sponges sitting on a desert floor, absorbing but showing neither growth nor change. Fortunately, my 6th graders brought and reflected that necessary energy this year, even if the "herding squirrels" analogy might be apt. Bottom line, though, is that they give back at least as much energy as they absorb, and I'll take that any day.
It's unfair to assume that the upcoming eighth grade would mirror this year's; they're larger and definitely different in personality. But I'm glad to be focusing on 6th grade again next year. Whether I have enough energy to cope all year with them remains to be seen, but at least I can count on them to not just suck my batteries dry and give nothing back in return.
I've also realized that I'm not always a good audience myself, sitting there, expecting to be entertained or educated, but not particularly involved in the process. I wonder how much more I would have enjoyed plays, concerts, lectures, classes, even in-services, had I fed the those performing the energy that I know I need when I'm up front.
What, you may ask, does this have to do with Schechter? It got me thinking about the frustrating year I've spent with my 8th graders. Were they smart? Absolutely. Were they well behaved? No complaints there. Was their work and work ethic acceptable? Yes, that and more. Were they involved with their learning? Not so much.
Last year I compared teaching the 8th grade with "herding cats." I've decided cats was the wrong analogy, because that crew was, for the most part, neither aloof nor apathetic. But I prefer them to this year's group, smug, self-satisfied in their level of knowledge (or ignorance, depending upon your point of view) and generally apathetic about the acquisition of knowledge. Two examples: They were offered the chance to Skype with the "Space Rabbi," the man who helps Jewish astronauts with some of the special challenges they face maintaining their religion in space. No assignment, just watch and listen on the Smart Board™, but they passed. Monday I asked if they wanted to see any video or audio on the horrific tornado that struck Joplin. No,thanks, we'll just sit. As someone who views teaching as performance art, this audience wore me out and makes glad that the run ends next week.
It's tough to perform when you have an audience that just sits there. When it's so small (just 5 girls if they're all here) and often dominated by an intimidating classmate who's impossible to please.... I'll have to talk to a friend who performs in small shows in front of small houses to see if she has shared that frustration.
I need to feed off my audience and these girls were little more than sponges sitting on a desert floor, absorbing but showing neither growth nor change. Fortunately, my 6th graders brought and reflected that necessary energy this year, even if the "herding squirrels" analogy might be apt. Bottom line, though, is that they give back at least as much energy as they absorb, and I'll take that any day.
It's unfair to assume that the upcoming eighth grade would mirror this year's; they're larger and definitely different in personality. But I'm glad to be focusing on 6th grade again next year. Whether I have enough energy to cope all year with them remains to be seen, but at least I can count on them to not just suck my batteries dry and give nothing back in return.
I've also realized that I'm not always a good audience myself, sitting there, expecting to be entertained or educated, but not particularly involved in the process. I wonder how much more I would have enjoyed plays, concerts, lectures, classes, even in-services, had I fed the those performing the energy that I know I need when I'm up front.
Terri Kung wrote on May 25, '11
ReplyDeleteI'm with you there. A set of engaged, curious learners (even if slightly raucous) is infinitely better than a group of well-behaved, apathetic, passive observers. A teacher can't really refer to them as learners, if a student is not actively acquiring new information, can one? A very wise manager/mentor once advised me after observing me teaching a class of non-responsive Japanese businessmen that my energetic performance was admirable, but I should be careful not to let that particular group suck all of my energy out of me. He said that I should find a way to demand some reciprocal energy from them or tone it down and divert some of my attention to other groups. Sounds like you've already made that assessment also. :-)
Drmist1 wrote on May 29, '11
ReplyDeleteThe biggest problem with diverting attention to other groups is that we need to know we reached them. Some will never be reached I had a group of squirrels as a beginning band this year, but I preferred that environment the the sponges who ruined what should be the most interesting class I teach: Modern Music. How does one stay motivated for the performance when they say stuff like, "we know this already", and "why do you keep calling this a personal stereo when its an iPod?". The good thing is that the world has been going to hell in a hand basket since my dad first told me that when Sputnik was orbiting the planet, so the pace may not be fast enough for concern after all. That does not, I know, fix the eighth graders or the Japanese businessmen, but it does help to know the value of focusing on other groups.