Vickie Gill

On the third day of school, I had the students in my 9th grade English class do an activity where they had to make assumptions about another student–low-risk things like favorite type of food, music, movies, etc.  The kids enjoyed the activity and for homework, wrote a journal entry about the experience.  They also described a time that assumptions had gotten them into trouble and a time when assumptions (or good instincts) had kept them out of trouble. 

Yesterday I showed them how to use the thoughts in their journals to create a thesis statement for an academic essay on assumptions–they could argue either way:  1) Although assumptions can help us avoid dangerous situations, however, we must be careful of what we assume about other people because assumptions can lead to stereotypes, prejudices, and lost opportunities, or 2) Although assumptions can lead to prejudices and stereotypes, however, we need to make some assumptions based on our instincts because reasonable assumptions can help us avoid dangerous situations.

I like that this “although, however, because” formula forces the kids to address both points of view.  I begin the lesson with one of my favorite quotes by F. Scott Fitzgerald, “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.”  This quote becomes one of the major themes of our class as we discuss cultural, political, and religious beliefs different from our own.  I make sure to tell the kids that they do not have to agree with an opposing point of view, but they should at least be able to present it clearly.

Their homework for this Labor Day weekend is to take five topics–dress code, the election process, survival of the fittest, lab testing on animals, and video games–and create two thesis statements for each:  one “for” and one “against.”  When I presented this assignment, I wore my button that says, “How far can I open my mind before my brains fall out?”  Pretty far, my dears, pretty far.

“I love power.  But it is as an artist that I love it.  I love it as a musician loves his violin, to draw out its sounds and chords and harmonies.”

I’ve been trying to help a public school system start up a charter school; it opens in just  a few weeks and right now the task seems overwhelming.  After almost 30 years, I had no intention of working in a high school again, but the people behind this endeavor are so enthusiastic and idealistic that I threw my hat in before I realized what I was doing.  I’m a sucker for projects that seem impossible to pull off.  If the cause is worthy, the people sincere, and the path not yet paved, I’m in.  I once heard someone say, “Just because something is impossible is not a good enough reason not to try.”  Despite the flagrant double negatives, ’tis true, ’tis true.  Or as I say to new teachers, “If this job were easy, anyone could do it.”  It’s all about the vision and the faith.

Yesterday I spent some time with a man who returned to college after many years of working outside of education to get his teaching credential.  I truly admire his energy, dedication, and creativity.  He’s going to be a great teacher, but we just need to get him through his first year.  We’ve spent time arranging and rearranging furniture, but the real focus has been on developing a classroom management program that will work for him.  I can show him what I do, but he has to find what makes sense to him.  I’m enjoying the process–watching the wheels turn as he listens to my advice and either asks questions or lights up with the great “Aha!”  That’s one of my favorite parts of teaching–watching the struggle transform into a workable idea that now belongs to the learner and not to me.

Any discussion of classroom management will always turn to the topic of power or control.  I believe that teachers who are successful in creating a classroom where real learning takes place understand the nature of true power.  Without a doubt, the teacher needs to take control of a classroom before the opening bell rings.  The students should leave their first session with the sense that the teacher is clearly in charge and has a plan.  New teachers receive all sorts of advice as to how to do this.  Most have been told to start out strict then lighten up as the year unfolds.  This can work if the teacher has convinced the students early on that s/he has the students’ best interests at heart and has created a curriculum worth learning.  However, I’ve seen this “don’t smile until Christmas” approach backfire horribly if the power being wielded by the teacher is false; most students can spot a person pretending to have power within the first few minutes of class.

False power relies on threats designed to make the students afraid to misbehave.  I’ve seen coaches who can pull this off, but often they have a deeper relationship with a number of influential students based on their shared experiences on the athletic field.  But a teacher who relies on shouts, physical intimidation, or public humiliation will maintain control of a class as long as that level of fear is maintained.  This, of course, is exhausting; this kind of control works only as long as the teacher is focused on making it work.  The reason this type of power is labeled “false” is that it disappears as soon as the teacher turns his/her back or relaxes for a minute.  True power is where the students behave because they choose to.  They feel they have a stake in what will happen in this class and are anxious to learn what is being taught.  The climate of the classroom quickly moves from teacher control to self control.  False power controls physical actions; true power changes people’s minds.  My job is to help the teachers tell the difference.  Such interesting work.

Many years ago I ran across the quote that sits in the upper right-hand corner of this page:  “Education is either to calm the disturbed or disturb the calm.”  I honestly can’t remember who said that, but it stuck with me because I had to think about it for awhile before I decided that it was the truth.  I have shared that quote with every one of my students over the past 20 years, and I often ask them to write a journal entry to let me know how they see themselves as students:  calm or disturbed.

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