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A reading of the fairy tale Hansel and
Gretel had us then listening to Humperdink’s opera. A group of K’s
and 1st graders decided to put on a play. Here, with Mrs. Larimore’s
help and the assistance of older students, the group practices their
choral piece.
The writing bug bites Keri and she wrote and illustrated a story
about a well-dressed lion. (Independent work)
Because of intense interest in classical music generated by hearing
Humperdink, a local music teacher offered to come in and introduce
the children to the instruments of the orchestra.
These two 2nd graders wanted to know
more about ASL (American Sign Language), so a community lady and her
deaf son taught a week of ASL. The two boys gave several lessons to
all the students.
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August 3, 2010
Dear Mac,
My reading in your second book [Vol II of “Plainston Chronicles”]
has just begun and already I’m deeply immersed in what is happening.
Feelings that I had buried (I thought) came rushing back as your
characters have discussed the unwillingness of a community to
embrace anything new where education is concerned. Do you know what
hit me like a ton of bricks? The thought that if there are teachers
reading the books who have tried anything along the lines of MI,
they are going to come out of the woodwork and stand up to be
counted.
The more I read into “Conversion,” the more I strongly believe that
as adults we do not trust children enough. We think, in our wisdom,
that we must “lead” them when, in reality, we need to partner with
them in the learning process. It is absolutely essential that as
teachers we set aside our egos and be willing to turn the reins over
to children when they demonstrate the ability to do for themselves.
That was an essential part of my learning curve when I plunged into
this whole thing. As I told you, it was self-preservation that led
me to attempt my own modified version of MI. Year after year of
large classrooms of children (never less than 36!), receiving all
the ADD and ADH children, non-English speakers, and so-called
problem students, I awoke one night at 1:45 a.m. and said to myself,
“I hate teaching! I’ve got to get out!” But knowing that I truly
love children and working with them, I analyzed it piece by piece
and recognized that what I really hated was not having time for
students on an individualized basis. Hence, a refocus of my
priorities and energies. What could change? The amount of teacher
generated “stuff” and more put into what the children themselves
could do.
Was it easy? No way, Jose! That old teacher ego got in my way more
than just a few times. Wasn’t I The Teacher? Wasn’t it I who was
supposed to lead the class and make the decisions? A few examples of
children making better decisions than I did was all it took to put
my ego in cold storage and jump in with both feet. Did I make
mistakes? You bet, but interestingly enough, those mistakes were
always on the side of not trusting the children enough! When I did
trust them, they never failed me.
You should have seen the looks on the faces of parents when they
came in for conferencing and their child led the discussion! One
father exclaimed, “He’s only a kid! I want to hear about him from
you!" at which point I said, “Listen closely to what your son is
telling you. You are hearing it from me, only far better! Do you
understand that your son is fully aware of his capabilities and
where he intends to improve?” Now I ask you, what more could a
parent want? By the end of the year, I feel that most of the
parents, especially those who really cared about their children,
were converts. Another father commented at Back To School Night, “I
don’t fully understand what you are doing, but keep doing it!”
The hidden treasure in all this? Children who refused to go out to
recess because they were involved in something so deeply they
couldn’t stop; children who refused to stay home when they were ill
because they were afraid they would miss something; children who
actually loved school; and children who walked out the door on the
last day of the year with a true sense of self-worth--not
manufactured by the teacher but earned through hard work.
And my beginning reading into “Conversion” reminded me that I
quickly learned to stop sharing the class successes with some of the
staff, that I ceased bragging (aloud) about how much my babies were
learning, that I never, never mentioned, when other teachers
complained about misbehaving students, that I had no students who
were not totally into their work and had no time to misbehave. I
myself had not realized that we never had to stop for misbehaving
and acting out by any student. One day it dawned on me that I NEVER
had to pull any child aside and discuss classroom behavior
standards. The children set the standards, adhered to them, and
dealt with any child who stepped outside the bounds.
Another fascinating side effect of all this was that, as the
teacher, I never felt that I needed recess or lunchtime away from
the children. When you don’t have to be a disciplinarian, the day is
a thousand times brighter and easier. Would you believe that two
teachers actually complained to the principal that I was never in
the teacher’s lounge? Talk about a reverse compliment!
Another side effect? Far, far less prep time for each day as the
children corrected their own work and critiqued it, I had time to
meet each day with every single child, evaluate with them what and
how they were doing, check their individual folders with them, and
solve any educational problems. Consequently, each day began with
every child knowing exactly what they were doing that day! Now is
that heaven on earth for a teacher?!
I started this in my 26th year of teaching, and as I continued to
learn from the students, each year my skills improved! At the end of
30 years I actually felt that I was, indeed, a master educator. I
progressed from being a teacher to being an educator. Think about
the difference!
You know, Mac, the more I think about it, the more I am becoming
convinced that it may well be teachers who have used MI, or their
own versions of it, who will make the breakthrough! How many
teachers do you see actually smiling at the end of the day? In my
school, I was about the only one who wasn’t complaining about
full-fledged fatigue.
Love, Joan
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