Relationships {over programming}

Relational teaching is more important than programming.
Recently the state of public education is getting more attention.  There is a growing chorus in the media, and in government, that our public school system is in immediate need of change and reform. In many instances, I agree wholeheartedly that our schools need change.  From scheduling, to teacher training, to innovative methods of pedagogy - we need reform.  

But what is the trick to bring about meaningful change to our schools?  How do we make meaningful changes  to grow student learning at the classroom level?

In my experience that question has been answered with the introduction of new programs.   It is an annual rite that each public school teacher will sit through a new programming proposal each year that promises to make each of us a "better teacher," and/or "improve student learning." In the past several years, my school system alone has introduced: PLCs, Balanced Literacy programs, PBIS, a statewide Formative Assessment program, Learning Targets, The Big Six, etc.

Each of us is expected to learn these strategies, and incorporate each of them into our classroom instruction.  And many of these programs are effective, and include quality methods for teaching.  I can honestly say that I currently utilize individual elements of all of the above strategies in some way in my classroom.

But so do most other teachers in my system....and we are not all equal teachers.

Because great teaching is not taught by a program.  Great teaching is a byproduct of great relationships.

In order for our students to truly learn anything from us, they must believe in us.  The fact that state government hired us, or that we have the word "teacher" beside our name, is not enough to impress a teenager.  (if anything, it has the opposite effect).  Our first step as a teacher must be that we seek to understand our students.  This is the necessary first step in teaching and learning, is to show an interest in the student.

Let's not take ourselves too seriously....

I stole a great idea from my teacher friend Lizzie, who requires each student to write her a letter on the first day of school - telling her everything about themselves that (s)he most wants his/her teacher to know.  Since implementing this letter into my classes, I am most amazed by what students choose to tell me about, as well as what they omit.  Basic biographical information often gives way to deeply held passions, and family dynamics.  I have learned to keep these letters, and re-read them when I need a refresher on what makes certain students tick.

It was through this method that I was able to connect with one of my  most amazing students, who until that time was mostly disengaged with school.  Through her letter, and conversations, we bonded immediately over our shared love of punk rock music - namely Minor Threat.  From there, she became the most engaged, helpful, and inquisitive student in my class that year.

From there, we have to provide opportunities for each student to express himself throughout our time together.  My ninth grade civics teacher, Mr. Thompson was a master at this - allowing us to enjoy his class by playing team games that allowed us students to gain points for our team by demonstrating a non-academic skill.  I was a less than enthusiastic student of civics, but I became a commodity on any team for my knowledge of popular music - which was one aspect of his game.   I try to emulate this in most of my classes: playing Name That Tune, having Three-legged races, and asking sports questions.

And for the student to get to know us, we must be more relational, mostly by humbling ourselves...often - and by not taking ourselves too seriously.  We must make mistakes, admit these mistakes, laugh at ourselves, and allow for silliness.

In our AP World and Government classes, we take an annual road trip to a major city in the US.  (I have written about these trips and their importance on this blog before).  As a high school student I traveled to Western Europe with students and teachers, and it had an incredibly positive impact on  me.  Not only did that trip open my eyes to the awesomeness of the world abroad, but I continue to have a kinship with many of the fellow students and teachers who were on the trip.

So, now we (fellow teachers and myself) orchestrate similar trips, in the hopes that it will have a similar impact on the kids.  And these trips have proven to be a fantastic way for us to develop relationships with our students and their families - as travelling together is one of the best ways to create lasting memories.

And though our students learn more as a direct result of improved and meaningful relationships - it is not a panacea.  Like any healthy relationship, boundaries are crucial - and trust is everything.  As teachers, we must constantly be vigilant that we model these healthy relationships - while engaging our students and their families with meaningful, authentic teaching.

Mining the Past {Thanks Adam Sandler}

I spend my workdays mining the past for inspiration.  I constantly read books, look at photos, listen to music, and have conversations about what came before.  And I get paid by the state to try and translate my passion for the past into a liberal arts education for high school kids.   It is an amazing life for me, and I am grateful.
But lately, it is my youngest son who is showing me just how powerful the past can be as a tool of inspiration.
He has become obsessed with early eighties culture...

It started with our family recently seeing the movie Pixels.  This Adam Sandler vehicle is the story of adults who are called in by the President to help fight aliens who have attacked the world using video game characters from the early eighties.  The story goes that, as children in the eighties, these adults were the "world champions" of games like Pac-Man, Centipede, and Donkey Kong.  Hoping that their childhood skills will be the secret to success - they lead the attack.

Watching this movie, especially the scenes that take place in 1983, was an absolute revelation for both of my boys - but especially for Avery.  They had been inspired by movies before, especially by the historical scenes in Mr. Peabody and Sherman), but this time was different.  On the drive home, They simply could not stop asking questions about these old Atari games.  Within a week, both boys bought a jean jacket, and now Avery's favorite song is Surrender by Cheap Trick (which was first released in 1978, and opens the movie).  We have it on vinyl at our house, and he played it 12 times in a row yesterday...12 times.  In reward for having good weeks at school, all he wants to do is go to the Asheville Pinball Museum, because they have a backroom that is filled with eighties video games.  He asks constantly which games I was good at, and how, exactly, my older brother flipped Frogger (which he did, and it was amazing).

For me,  I was alive in 1983, and thus I remember all of these cultural things.  But for him, all of this is brand new.  And it is inspiring him to try these "new" things.  Because of Surrender, he wants to learn to play the drums.  Though he is not much of a fan of writing outside of school - he recently wrote, illustrated, and colored an entire book on the video games of the early 80's, completely on his own volition.  Both of my kids want to ride their bikes around the neighborhood freely, "like the kids did in the eighties.." We have 20 minute conversations about what it was like to go to an arcade at the mall.

And it occurs to me that this is why historical curiosity is incredible.  Some argue that we study history so that, "we are not condemned to repeat the past." And in some cases, that is certainly true.  But most of the time, our studying history is totally about repeating the past - or at least finding inspiration in it.  We WANT to emulate the bravery of Martin Luther King Jr.  We WANT to design buildings like Frank Lloyd Wright.  We WANT to skateboard like Tony Hawk.  So, the first step is to be introduced to this greatness.

And it seems that Pixels (as bad of a movie as it probably is) -  did the job perfectly.

Thanks, Adam Sandler.

Using Whatever's Lying Around

In her new book Lafayette in the Somewhat United States, (which you should immediately read) Sarah Vowell briefly describes how she (an art history major) goes about writing history books.

"Having studied art history, as opposed to political history, I tend to incorporate found objects into my books. Just as Pablo Picasso glued a fragment of furniture onto the canvas of Still Life with Chair Caning, I like to use whatever's lying around to paint pictures of the past - traditional pigment like archival documents but also the added texture of whatever bits and bobs I learn from looking out bus windows or chatting up the people I bump into on the road."

She gives voice to my approach in teaching stories of the past. Though I use traditional sources like books, research, and academic journals - I mostly love to talk about history through the prism of music, artists, popular movies, coffee consumption, punk rock,  jokes, Star Wars characters, and the English Premiere League. I will pull every string, and look under every stone to find a connection between the past and our modern lives (however ridiculous) - and the fact is that my life experience, and particular interests, are typically the low hanging fruit for connectivity is just the lay of the land..

As a teacher, my personal life experience (and interests) should not be denied, but should be used as much as a possible as a direct line of connection between history and student learning. When Simon Bolivar reminds me of my uncle, I share this with the students - explaining the personality traits of both.

And when we are studying the Hanseatic League, and looking at an image of the German city of Lubeck, and a student points out that it resembles the opening to the TV show "The Office," I run with it. 

In discussing Kublai Khan's ancient palace of Xanadu, I cue up Olivia Newton John's 1980 hit of the same name.

While discussing the rise of the Abbasid Caliphate, a student questions the background of ISIS - so we run with it, looking up information and unpacking it together.

The Young Turks of the Ottoman Empire?  I play Rod Stewart's 1981 hit, "Young Turks," though it has no relation...


But it has every relation!  It provides another source of connection between ourselves, and our past, which is often good enough.  Just because Young Turks is a pretty bad eighties song doesn't mean it can not provide a service for our interest  in history.  If nothing else, we at least get to have a discussion about Rod's hair styling choices, and that terrible guitar solo.....  

Silk Road {Time Lapse}

Studying ancient world trade networks remains one of my favorite topics to introduce and discuss with students.  The constant exchange of cultures, and subsequent syncretism that has occurred to create a whole new world of culture is fascinating to me.

This time lapse video does a great job of encapsulating the journey, and the energy of the world's oldest trade route....



Timelapses from the Silk Road from Chris Northey on Vimeo.

Lets. Do. This. {Back to School Edition}

The. Greatest. Tour. Guide. Ever. at Independence Hall. 

Every year around this time I get the itch. And the itch is for a return to the palpable kinetic energy of a high school classroom. My summer was amazing, as I was able to make more meaningful memories with my family and friends. That, and spending most of these past two months outdoors is just the thing to get my psyche back in balance. But as August dawns, I once again feel the drum beat of teaching nudging me. 

I am optimistic that I am in store for another amazing year. I can not wait to meet new kids, and get to know their families. I am excited about wrestling with new ideas, and hearing new music ( a huge benefit to teaching teenagers).   And I am excited about planning another field trip in May, taking us somewhere in America - just like Chicago and Philadelphia before. These kids are inspirational, and always help me grow. 

As always, I will try to mix things up this year.  Between the content, projects, and essays - I am always looking for something new.  For instance, in an effort to inspire more curiosity from new angles - my first semester AP World History class will (hopefully) be completing a class read with a fantastic book The History of the World in Six Glasses.  This book attempts to tell " the story of humanity from the Stone Age to the 21st century through the lens of beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, and cola."  In addition, we may take another opportunity to work with UNC Chapel Hill"s Center for International Understanding program, working with a class of high school students in India - something that inspired us all last year.


But mostly, each year I simply become more fully aware that teaching is my passion.  So, I can not wait to get back in the saddle.  I am even excited about grading essays....almost.

Let's.  Do.  This.  

The Problem That We All Live With (Should Schools Integrate?)

In teaching American history, my classes spend a lot of time attempting to gain a more complete understanding of  a variety of supreme court cases.  A few of these cases concern school integration - and I often feel that my educational experience can help shed light on the topic.

As a kid, I grew up in a city (Winston-Salem, NC) that had mandatory busing to integrate the schools. (This was court ordered as a result of the supreme court case Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System in 1970).  The system looked like this: I attended an elementary school that was in the suburbs, where I lived.  African-American kids from the inner city took a 45 minute bus ride out to our school.   For middle school, it was me ( and other suburban white kids) who had the long bus ride to the inner city.  Then, we all returned to the suburbs for high school.  Overall, this system succeeded in integrating our schools.  Until my final years in high school, I never knew that many places in America had an educational experience without mandatory busing.

Since the mid nineties, most cities (including Winston-Salem) have abandoned mandatory busing in favor of magnet school programs - simply allowing for family choice in schools (In Winston-Salem, this has essentially resegregated the public schools there - where one elementary school is almost 100% African-American and Latino, with 98% free/reduced lunch - and another is 88% white, with 15% free/reduced lunch). In addition, school systems are trying numerous strategies to combat the massive gap in test scores between minorities and white students.

The NPR podcast This American Life recently took on crucial questions about our school integration experiment of the 1980s, including:

• Was it successful?  
• Did mandatory integration of public schools help close the achievement gap between minorities and white kids?  
• Is it still necessary to make sure kids of different races attend school together?

As a product of this integration experiment, I applaud TAL for their willingness to wrestle with such a complicated topic.
Click here to hear the podcast The Problem That We All Live With

Kendrick Lamar {comes to your school}

This is rad.  Just a public school teacher...doing whatever it takes (via NPR).
Bravo.