My last post was so long I had to rest before doing another one. That previous post described an arduous, mostly calamitous week. Last week was better, but still a strain. Right now I'm seeing three aspects to this job. First is the right temperament and the understanding of how learning happens. This is my strength. I have the right temperament--the right combination of authority and empathy to teach people, big or little. I also have a good understanding of how learning happens and how learning can be structured. This comes not only from my previous teaching experience but from the intervening 20 years of working on educational reform with teachers and others.
Second is a clear curriculum--a plan for the day-to-day lessons that will promote learning on the part of the students. I had no clue about this for a few weeks, but now I feel I understand the LAUSD plan for seventh grade English. I am steadily working my way through the narrative unit which will culminate in the students' own neighborhood narrative. (Unfortunately, the district's periodic assessment is next week, and I'm not finished with the unit, so....well, we'll see what happens.)
The third part is my weak link--actually being able to guide the students to do what you know will teach them. On this point I'm hanging on by my fingernails. I can barely manage to steer them through the lesson. They talk too much, I yell too much. I've recently gotten a couple of good suggestions for quieting them down, so I'm hopeful.
Today was rough, even though it was a short day. I have so much to do in my room and in managing the classes that I was discouraged when class ended. We had an English department meeting after lunch, and it turned my mood around dramatically. For one thing, both the other boys' teachers said they also had a hard time quieting them down enough for discussions, reading, etc. And one of the girls' teachers (Ms. Turner of the beautiful room) said she had these boys last year in 6th grade and found them a real handful. (She also said she felt like a real professional teaching the girls who are much more cooperative and organized.)
I also learned that everyone is behind in the curriculum. Most of the other English teachers are experienced middle school teachers, so they are more on top of the situation. I am learning a lot from them, but they also struggle with the same conditions. It was reassuring to realize that.
So this department meeting was a perfect example of the power of professional collaboration. This school encourages a lot of that. Isolation is a professional hazard for teachers, so strong leadership at a school is needed to bring teachers together to strengthen their strategies or just console each other. So...dare to struggle, dare to win!
I want to take a little detour to tell you about the opera "Boris Godunov" by Modest Mussorgsky. I saw it Saturday as part of the Met Opera Live in HD series. This is a fabulous way to see opera, and "Boris Godunov" blew me away. I had never seen it, although I had heard much of the music. I was not prepared for the raw power of the music and the drama.
Mussorgsky's opera from the late nineteenth century is based on the verse drama of the same name by the great Russian poet, Alexander Pushkin. Both recount the rise and fall of Boris, a great reforming tsar at the beginning the 17th century. Boris is a powerful leader, but conflicted and tormented by paranoia. Russian history and above all the Russian people thunder across the stage in this monumental work. The Met's new production has a mostly Russian cast led by the Valery Gergiev. It was powerfully sung and dramatically staged. I would now rank it up there with other great historical operatic masterpieces such as Verdi's Don Carlo, Rossini's William Tell, and Berlioz's Les Troyens. (Boris will be encored at selected theatres on Wednesday, Nov. 10. Go to Met Live in HD for details.)
So as musical distractions go, Boris was a knockout. These 7th grade boys are nothing compared to the enraged Russian peasantry who turned against their Tsar. Vincero!
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