The Now. And the Next. {Record Player}

I am a big believer that the future is always bigger than the past.  So, sometimes I hesitate to engage in straight up nostalgia.  I mean, I LOVE musing on historical themes - and the role that our past plays in shaping who we are...I have actually made a career out of it.

But I try not to let the past bog me down.  I most want our histories to light a fire of inspiration for each of us - so that we can use it to shape our future, ya know?  I try to bring this ethos to my classroom everyday.  And it is not hard, when working with teenagers.  They have an incredible ability to focus on the now and the next - it is inspiring.

But sometimes the past is the very thing that can help us be in the moment, and look forward to the next...

As I have written before, music was my gateway to the study of history.  And I still engage with music more than any other art medium.  But lately I have had some serious nostalgia for vinyl records.  Growing up, my brother and I spent countless hours in his room listening to records, and studying the covers and liner notes. And I do mean studying.  Listening to records was my introduction into a new world, where one's influences, photography, and spirit played the pivotal roles.  Over time, it transformed me, instilling a curiosity in me for music, history, and art that has yet to be dampened.

We listened to lots of cassettes as well, but still preferred records for the album art. But as CDs came into the mainstream - we (like everyone else) switched over, as it sounded better, was more efficient, and we still got the cool album art (that was much larger than a cassette). From there, it was a short jump to Itunes and mp3s, where I now buy all of my music with a touch of my finger, on an iphone.

Technology has made the acquisition of music more efficient and accessible - but has it made it more meaningful?

Can we find more meaning, by increasing the effort and engagement with the art?

In an effort to find out, we bought a Crosley record player, and it has been amazing.
I returned my parents' house, rummaged through my old closet - and brought back the primary sources of my youthful inspiration: numerous records by KISS, Fleetwood Mac, Van Halen, and Led Zeppelin.  You know, music from the past - recorded using a passed technology.

And I have learned that I missed the records.  I missed the art. I missed the physical feeling of delicately placing the needle on the vinyl.

I am remembering (and my kids are learning) that music is not only a listening experience, but an experience with art, reading, history, and feeling.  And like teaching, it is all about engagement.  We have to care.  And, with help from my record-playing past, my relationship to these songs is more meaningful.  I care more.

By returning to the past, it is pushing me forward.

US-India Collaboration {Global Poverty}

Recently, my AP World History class was offered the opportunity to engage with a class in India, in an effort to build relationships, and look for solutions to global poverty.  Officially, the collaboration was facilitated by UNC-Chapel Hill's Center for International Understanding program. They describe it as follows: US India Partnership is a curricular and educational program to enhance collaborative global learning linking high school classrooms in the States of Maharashtra, India and North Carolina, USA. 

Our Skype Session with the students of  the New India School

We were teamed up with the New India School, in Pune India. We interacted with each other through Edmodo and a Skype session.  Each class watched a series of videos about global poverty, and submitted questions for the film producers (which they answered).  My students were quite inspired by the short films made by the guys at Living on One. This is an incredible organization that works to find understanding by living on $1.00 per day.  (I HIGHLY recommend you watch these series of short films, documenting how these American college kids lived 56 days, with only $56, in the mountains of Guatemala.)

From there, our class researched local poverty here in Buncombe County, and created (and shared) a powerpoint on the local initiatives to alleviate the effects of poverty.  My students researched free/reduced lunch rates for the North Buncombe District, the CHIP Health insurance program, as well as local charities who work to end poverty.  Our friends in India did the same, and we compared notes via a Skype session this morning (or evening for India).


While having that face to face interaction, the students were also able to ask each other questions about local poverty, education, food, and entertainment.  It has been a great experience for all of us, and it is fair to say that we are all more engaged and curious about our world - and how we can improve it.  The opening page of my syllabus for AP World History states that our primary goal in this class is to explore the ties that bind.  This opportunity to meet students from the other side of the world, learn about each other, and discuss our commonalities in dealing with local poverty is a major step towards that goal.

I feel so lucky to have this job: and lucky to spend my days with these students.  They continue to inspire and amaze me.

Should Teachers be Performers?

• What makes a great teacher? 
• Is it enough for a teacher to simply know, and be able to communicate effectively, a lot of content? 
• Or, Should our best teachers be great performers?   

NPR has taken on this debate with this story about teaching's correlation to performance.
Please listen to it here. 

Full disclosure: I am a self-confessed performer-teacher.  I was most inspired to be a teacher by some of my own teachers, most of whom were amazing performers.  I was lucky enough to have teachers who had a passion for their subject and their craft.  Plus, they were funny,and made me laugh a lot.  These teachers also deeply cared about me, and I wanted to do well for them.

But Dead Poets Society was also my favorite movie during my teen years - and the hilarious performance of Robin William's Mr. Keating made me want to try my hand at it.  And my background is less academic, and way more performance.  I was always an OK student - who mostly did well in subjects that I loved, yet slacked off if I did not care. Instead, I spent most of my youth performing in punk rock bands, and in school plays.  I loved the stage, and teaching absolutely scratches that itch for me.

On my best days, I feel that I use my performance to instill curiosity and buy-in from my students.  In many ways - I am using comedy, music, and laughter to actively sell the study of history as something to believe in.  I teach public school, so my students are not choosing to be in my classroom.  But to really engage them, I need them to believe in what we do, ie: I can not serve the students until they come to the table, so my performance is sometimes a way to make the table seem appealing.  Once we are gathered around that table together - I am better able to engage and instruct.

But does my history in performance make me a better teacher?  Or just it just make me an entertainer?  Can I be both?  And if performance is a key to great teaching - how do we recruit these performers to our profession?

I encourage you, dear readers to post your thoughts on your best teachers in the comments section.  In your experience, what made your best teachers..your best teachers?

The Middle Ages {in 3 1/2 minutes}

We are currently finishing up our study of the Middle Ages in WHAP. One of the most challenging elements of teaching world history is to take extremely complicated events/causes/comparisons, and break the concepts down to something more understandable and relate-able.  It is especially tricky to do this without simply being reductionist, without true analysis.
All of that being said, sometimes a video using art and animation can accomplish this very feat.
 I recently came across this video.
 It. Is. Amazing.

WHAP Architecture Project {Video Version}

I have been requiring my students to use our city of Asheville to complete an architecture project for almost ten years now.  Being the home of both a hefty dose of classical architecture, as well as art deco - it seems crazy to teach the importance of this without nudging the kids to go see it, feel it, and document it for themselves.

So, in 2005, a completed project consisted of poster board and typed papers.  But as our access/ability to use iphones and digital media has progressed, so have the possibilities for the architecture project. Two fantastic students used the project to make a short film of Asheville's architecture, as well as grabbing some extra credit points for local flavor.  They made us proud.  Enjoy!!

Mandala {UNCA}

Some times in this teaching job, we just get lucky.  In example, we covered the basic tenants and history of Buddhism over the last few weeks - spending time on the differences between Theraveda and Mahayana. We watched videos and discussed the role of Tibetan Buddhism, and some of its more unique traditions, including the creation of sand mandalas. 

So it was with great excitement when I found out that a group of Tibetan Buddhist monks were to be at UNCA (our local university), making a sand mandala.  With short notice, we were unable to make it a class field trip - but I floated the promise of big time extra credit for any student who traveled to UNCA, and took a selfie with this mandala.  

Most of the students in my AP World History took me up on the offer, and seemed to get a lot out of it (or maybe they just told me that...).  Many of the parents (and siblings) of my students were roped into this as well, which was a nice unintended effect, as most spoke positively about the unique experience.  

I took my family there, and my kids were pretty amazed, and though I have seen this tradition in action before - I still found it awe inspiring.  We are lucky to have the opportunity to see these monks at work on a mandala, a tradition that is much bigger than we are.

Use Class time {to Sing Songs}

4th period AP World History || Enjoying their class time

There are so many studies out there showing that music can assist in our ability to learn that is is ridiculous.  I have used music in my history classroom since day one back in January 2000.  Initially, I just played music in class because it is so much a love and passion of mine - not to mention that before teaching, I had spent most of the previous four years playing in bands.  So, music was an important part of my life, and thus merged seamlessly into my teaching.  It wasn't until much later that I realized how much of a positive impact the music was having in my classroom.

The Chinese Dynasty song is something that we have been doing in my class for almost ten years.  It takes all of the major dynasties in the history of China, and sings them (in chronological order) to the tune of "Are You Sleeping."  I did not create this song, and I do not remember where I learned it - but it is common among AP World History teachers.   Again,
I spent most of my pre-teaching life playing guitar - so I always accompany my students as they learn to sing this song.  And over time, the singing of this song has come to take on a life of its own.

Every year - when it comes time to sing this song, most of the students start out sheepishly, and find it difficult to sit at their desks and sing.  I model it for them, typically playing the song through 2-3 times, but it takes time to build a level of comfort.  They hardly sing, or if they do it is a whisper.  But after we screw it up together (which always happens), and then add our own ideas to it, they most often dive in.

At the very least - the Dynasty song is a parlor trick way of teaching students how to memorize the dynasties.  But I have found that it also brings us closer together, and pays huge dividends for later in the class.  The students learn to edge out of their comfort zones by singing this song, and breaking that barrier enables the class to find more meaning in many of the activities/experiences in which we will engage throughout the school year. It is a team building activity more than anything else, and one that brings more joy and understanding to our class.  And that makes it worth every minute of class time.