Tupac and the Kibbutz Classroom

This Week’s Highlights:

Things I learned:

·      Who Tupac is. Because every time I put the slide up with Machiavelli, the kids shouted “Tupac!” Even the security guard asked about Tupac when he came in to take a student to in-school suspension. I’ve now listened to the song, and no, we are NOT playing it in class.

·      That pretty drawing on the desk in the front row is a marijuana leaf. Mr. B, the janitor, pointed it out to me while he was sweeping.

·      Students are weirdly much more fascinated by Teresa of Avila and the concept of role models than the Inquisition. Go figure.

The most memorable moments:

·      Rejuvenating Sunday brunch with friends who range in conversation from ethnic food to genetics.

·      The student who started out the semester in the back of the room, doing nothing but talking and being sent out, and after being moved to the front and various interventions, this week finished her third draft of an essay that actually made sense! She called me over to read it, and told me it’s the first real essay she’s ever written. Did I tear up? A little. But instead of crying I wrote her a note to take home and translate to her parents about how goshdarn awesome she’s been working.

·      The student who thought an appropriate response to a guy teasing her was to stand up, grab one of my whiteboard markers off the board, and chuck it as hard as she could at another student

·      When my last block was introduced to class points and magically hushed throughout the class period. MAGICAL!

·      The student who called me “racist” under her breath as I sent her out of the room

·      The student who dumped pencil shavings all over another student’s desk

·      The student who ate a piece of his test review in the back of the room

·      Four students who stayed after class three different days this week, one scoring triple his original score on a retest with me there to talk him through the questions. Gotta make that happen more.

·      Calling three parents of students who have had behavior issues to tell them how well their kids did in class that day—one parent said he’d never gotten a positive phone call from a teacher before.

·      The student who stayed during lunch to explain exactly what will help him learn the best.

·       It wasn’t in the classroom, but for my edu. Masters I got to write about the connection between Kohlberg’s levels
      of morality and student behavior—oh baby oh baby oh baby imagine a world where schools were run like kibbutzim, students responsible to a social contract and society they created! I ran wild with the paper and then demurely edited it down to hand in, but what joyous imaginings.  Next up: my attempt at the kibbutznik classroom.

Right now, this year is running a close tie with Norway for the best year of my life. It’s utterly, ridiculously different, but when it doesn't have me furrowing my brow, I'm exhilarated with it!