What is Punk Rock Pedagogy?

The most valuable preparation that I ever received for teaching history in a public high school was from punk rock bands.  Growing up in Winston-Salem, NC, I was in numerous punk rock bands from age 14 through my college years.  They included bands with names like: Filling in for Zippy, Mike TV,  and Meadow's Maxim.  We did everything by ourselves -  from booking shows in basements, to buying PA systems, to writing songs.  We made stickers, t-shirts, and cassette tapes.  We practiced, learned to record, and watched ( and emulated) other bands.  We were driven, passionate, and extremely motivated to improve.  We had a blast.

By being a part of these punk bands - I learned how to:

• Hatch an idea. 
• Set goals towards its achievement. 
• Motivate others to believe in it. 
• Work with groups to make the idea happen.  
• Have a great time while doing it!

I am forever grateful for this experience, mostly because I have used these skills every day in my classroom for 14 years.   Teaching is about passion, inspiration, and positive experiences.  As teachers, we must always make our passion infectious, and we must accept that we have to constantly attempt to inspire those around us (in most cases, our students).  It is hard work, and we must earn the inspiration every day.  We should be sweating when we are done for the day, and things may get messy in our classroom.  It will (most likely) be loud, and students will need to have conversations with us. We will have to make up new rules, and try new methods, in order to move forward.  And we must be open to change, if these methods do not work.

I call this idea Punk Rock Pedagogy.

Many will tell you that teaching is about organization, and preparation, and classroom management.  And I do not dispute this idea, as all of these qualities can make for a great learning experience.  But passion, and the ability to inspire others are the sparks that ignite most valuable learning in today's public school classrooms.  And these sparks will drive us to prepare, and plan, and organize - because we love what we are doing.

And we must love what we are doing.  We must care about our students.  We must believe that a free and decent education is a right for everyone.  And we must serve our students.  We must be punk rock.