New T-Shirts (Class Rule #10)

Our class rule #10 is "to start a tradition."  For many years, my AP World History classes have designed and purchased t shirts, which certainly fulfills the ethos of tradition.  So, every year 'round about April - we turn to each other and try to work out the things that we most want to remember form our year together.  The shirt always turns out to be more of a souvenir/keepsake than a fashion item.  And for that reason I always remind the students that it is their t shirt -  for them, by them.

I think the first one was in 2003 - but I could be wrong.  (I need to go through each of the shirts and count, but either way - we have been doing this for a long time.)  And every shirt that we have made is full of our interactions with one another.  Sure, our learning of and discussions of history are a guiding theme - but the shirts are all social, and usually revolve around the magical times where our collective laughter was spontaneous and uncontrollable.

And I love it so much.

If nothing else, what the students decide to memorialize on their class t shirt confirms my belief that our educational experiences are about our emotional connectivity.  Our ability to learn is most elevated when we are in happy environments - surrounded by possibility.  Like summer camp, a public school classroom can be an incredible incubator for new and positive experiences.  We can grow by learning from each other.

And then we can make a t shirt about it.