Sticky stuff {The Whitehead Model}

"The justification for [education] is that it preserves the connection between knowledge and the zest of life, by uniting the young and the old in the imaginative consideration of learning" - Alfred North Whitehead

For many years, I have held a firm belief in the work of the philosopher/educator, Alfred North Whitehead.  Overall, he argues that great teachers are able to build their instruction around three steps. These steps include: Romance, Precision, and Generalization.   

Here is what it looks like:

Step One Romance (Selling It):  Here is how Whitehead describes Romance: "The primary acquisition of knowledge involves freshness, enthusiasm, and enjoyment of learning."  Meaning - when we (as teachers) first introduce a concept, our most important task is to sell it, and create student buy-in.  "What we are about to talk about is amazing! and here is why..."  Great teachers are often great salespeople.

Step Two, Precision (Practice):  This is the boring, though necessary repetition of skills and practices that come with any new skill.  Whitehead warns educators to be mindful not to overuse this, as it is a romance-killer...

Step Three, Generalization (Sticky Stuff):  Here is how Whitehead describes this: It is the moment of educational completeness and fruition, in which general ideas or, one may say, a philosophical outlook, both integrate the feelings and thoughts of the earlier moments of growth, and prepare the way for fresh experiences of excitement and romance, signaling a new beginning to the educational process.  

This (Generalization) is my favorite part.  If we do this well, we use the students' newfound knowledge and understanding to reconnect them to the romance of it all, inspiring them to live into their curiosity.  This is challenging, to say the least.  So, this is often the moment when I look for "sticky" activities, that allow the students to use their knowledge (gained from Precision) to connect to wider influences, and provide context and meaning to what we have learned.  Equally, the activity of choice needs to make the information stick in their minds, so that they can see its interconnection throughout their lives.  

I usually fail at implementing Whitehead's strategy on a daily basis - but it is my goal.  From time to to time though, it all comes together.  Baking and eating the cake of Africa for the Conference of Berlin, or creating human statues for the various Latin American Revolutions certainly helps the content "stick" - while providing some fun in the process, which is what most often makes anything stick.  

Either way, I love trying to make it connect - and I am not afraid to fail in front of my students.  They usually just laugh at me.  Which means that sometimes my failures become some of the stickiest stuff..

Germany, Here I Come... {DEUTSCHLAND, HIER KOMME ICH}

This June, I am headed to Germany.  I was lucky enough to be selected by Go Global NC to receive the Beattie Grant, which sends NC teachers to foreign countries in order to build connections, learn about the different education systems, and experience the culture.


It requires some pre and post educational work on my part - but it is a subject about which I am passionate, and I am thrilled to have this opportunity.

In my application and subsequent interview, I spoke about how I hope that this trip will change me - so that I can be a better teacher for my students, and a better person overall.  And that is as honest as I can be about my expectations for this experience.

Teaching and travel?  In one ten day trip to Germany.

Dreams do come true.

The Flags of Our Community {which are International...}

My AP World History class is taking on a new cause.  We are purchasing flags for every country in which our students were born, to hang and display in our school cafeteria.

We started by reaching out to all of our faculty and staff, asking for help identifying students who may have been born outside of the United States. We learned that although our high school, like many in North Carolina, remains made up by mostly a homogeneous demographic of suburban and rural white families - our ethnic diversity is growing rapidly.


As a class that spends our time each week together studying how the wider world impacts us, and how we impact the wider world - it is clear that we need to celebrate the ties that bind our community together right here in Weaverville, NC.  And what better place to start than with an individual recognition of each of our students in this school - whether American, Guatemalan, Vietnamese, Mexican, or Chinese?

We are all North Buncombe Blackhawks here.

We currently have 18 different nations represented by our student body, and we will be proud to hang these flags, and raise our eyes daily to our global and local community.

Many of our international students, standing with their flags, February 2017.

Tool for a Better World.

Man, teaching history during presidential campaigns can be tough.  This year has been my 5th Presidential election as a teacher, and (as always), the passion bubble of everyone, despite political leanings, is near the surface.  And yet, I find myself filled with hope and optimism about my students, and about my work.


It is true that the development of democracy in ancient Athens coincided directly with the rise of compulsory education for citizens (best represented by Raphael's 1511 School of Athens).  And (possibly as a result of this) our democratic elections have a way of  reminding me why I started teaching in the first place.

School of Athens

When I look out at my classes, and see all the different classes of people, different ethnicities, and different political leanings - I see my role so clearly: to create a safe place for the exchange of important ideas, and model passion and positivity.

With the anti-establishment and anti-institutional mood so pervasive in our country currently, public schools can still be a force for good, and fertile ground for the development and creation of innovative ideas.  As so many adults essentially live in an echo chamber, most consistently hearing the voices with which they agree, at the expense of all opposing viewpoints - a classroom full of 30+ students (from widely different backgrounds) is a treasure that must be nourished.


We can learn together, and we can inspire each other.

Whether we are making women's suffrage posters, or writing an essay on the role of art and innovation in history - we are constantly in the act of discovering how we give our world meaning.

And it works!  We get smarter, we become more self-aware, we come to better understand one another.  And we get better, and our hope grows.

I am so grateful to believe in it, and I am lucky to have a job that I love, but that is also a tool for a better world.

Never Apologize for Your Enthusiasm

"There is nothing wrong with loving the crap out of everything. Negative people find their walls. So never apologize for your enthusiasm. Never. Ever. Never." - Ryan Adams

After a great summer filled with travel, family, books, and adventure - I am crazy excited to get back to my world/classroom for a new school year ( which is Mural-o-Rama thanks to my incredible students.)

Teaching is my passion, and I am nothing if not enthusiastic.  So this year I am absolutely chomping at the bit to do my thing. 

I just love it so much.

I am full believer of intellectual curiosity and enthusiasm, and even on the days when I am not at my best - it is my hope that I can still exude both of these to my students.  I am a social person, so teaching high school agrees with my general disposition - as I enjoy meeting new students and their families each year.  It is a humbling and exciting experience of discovery to get a glimpse of the group of people with whom I will be spending my school days over the next semester.  And it remains my hope to create an environment where curiosity, rigor, and enthusiasm are encouraged and the norm.

I am grateful for the opportunity to teach history.  Though it is a job, it remains a love for me - and I am excited about bringing my enthusiasm to my new student family.  

LETS.  GO.     

Can't Stop. Won't Stop.

Dear Lord I love teaching high school kids. I also love thinking about history, of ourselves, and of other people far across the world. And I love talking about it..with high school kids..because they are crazy, and it is fantastic.  And I have zero intentions to stop. Can't stop. Won't stop.

So this article was a good read for me.
Periodically I will come across articles such as these.  Essentially, this writer is explaining how the institutional nature of public schools, and its dependence on politics, creates an untenable situation for modern teachers.  That the static is overwhelming the signal in many classrooms. And much of this is true, and I have sometimes felt that the extraneous requirements of a public educator can make for long days.

So, maybe instituting the punk rock approach to teaching is even more urgent now than ever.  The true punk rock models that I have admired do not simply reject all elements of the mainstream institution - instead they use the institutional tools to create something new.  Both Chapel Hill's Merge Records, and Washington DC's Dischord Records continue to put  out amazing records by some incredible punk and indie rock bands.  And they have continued to thrive, and fulfill their mission by both sticking to their DIY ethos, while also adopting some elements of the modern music industry, including online purchasing - and the resurgence of vinyl.  Even Ryan Adams formed his own record label PAX-AM so that he could put out as many recordings as his heart desires (which, it turns out, is many).

These are pathways that we can emulate in teaching.  Large institutions like a public school system have much available space in which we can innovate.  Actually, in my experience, most leaders are looking for new ideas, and success stories - and unlike most jobs, teachers spend 6-8 hours a day in small workshop studios (classrooms), full of energy, that are begging for new ideas. We can use this space to cultivate and share ideas, and build a movement from the ground up. 

So, instead of leaving the profession - I believe it is time to double down on building relationships that inspire us to create. And let's invite the people to us, to witness our movement in these schools. Let's build something for us, by us - to serve our community with energy and enthusiasm. 

Costa Rica

There are many valid reasons to have year round school.  I actually am a proponent of the year round schedule, as I believe that it has the potential to create a more complete balance in our scheduling for time off - without losing so much content.  But, man I love having a true break in the summer months...

Tamarindo, Costa Rica

You see, it is no great secret that we teachers get paid less than most jobs that require a specialized college degree.  One of the reasons is that we work 10-11 months.  But, few other professional jobs require the level of performance/engagement/energy that teaching does, on a daily basis.  

Surfing-O-Rama

As a teacher - it is simply not possible to report to work, hunker down at the computer and crank out your obligations.  We walk in to a room with at least 25 people staring at you and challenging you waiting for leadership.  As much as I love teaching, the daily grind of it is truly exhausting.  So, taking care of myself is one of the most important skills that I have tried to learn.  The summer break is the best time to seek out my folly, and recharge. I always have a summer reading list that focuses my mind - but my favorite activity is travel.  This summer, my wife (with other friends) got the opportunity to travel to Costa Rica for a week.  I have written extensively about my constant need for travel, and our return to Latin America for the first time in 15 years (we visited Aruba in 2001) was incredibly exciting.

I love to see new places, and obviously have worked diligently to create more opportunities for annual student travel (Chicago, Philadelphia, New Orleans).  But most importantly, traveling abroad is just a great practice to place ourselves in new circumstances that create opportunities for growth.  This trip to Costa Rica absolutely checked that box for me, as our friends had done most of the planning - and we simply had to be open to the possibilities. 

Nuetstra Casita: best local Costa Rican food...ever

So, the new experiences were legion, and included some of these highlights:

• I actually had to have a lengthy conversation entirely in Spanish in order to buy my son a Costa Rica soccer jersey...and I pulled it off, barely (Thanks Senora Blythe!).
• I learned to surf from a guy named Gustavo. He was a great teacher, and I ended up going surfing again and again while there. 
• We watched a fair amount of The Firm in Spanish, while waiting in a shack to board a tiny boat to Bula Bula - an old hotel/restaurant a few miles up Las Baulas National Park Estuary (infested with crocodiles). 
• We found some amazing local eats at Nuestra Casita - where we dined on the local staple of Casado (rice and beans and fish).
• The sail boat ride out to a secluded bay - where we saw sea turtles, went swimming in the crystal blue Pacific, and ate Casado. 

So how has this trip impacted my teaching, which is my passion?

First: though international travel can be informative, and answer many questions- I feel that it mostly serves to illicit more questions. I came home from Costa Rica hungry to learn, see, and do more. So though I have gained more knowledge of this country that I can share with my students- my primary hope is that I can exude enthusiasm and curiosity for new places - and better show these ties that bind all of us together.