A few days ago, I virtually emasculated my AP students. While I have noticed (for several weeks) that they had not been reading, the silence between questions went from "gears turning in their minds"......to eery......to downright telling. These students should have seriously read the piece we were discussing at least twice. So at first I was slightly perplexed as to why it was taking them that long when it should have just been a REREAD. Until I realized many were reading it for the first time. I've been in this teaching game 10 years now, and I have taught 5th grade up through college, so I know what silence means. Generally, I would tell them I knew they were faking and hadn't read, but this got under my skin this time.
It cut me deep.
It felt like a splinter that was stuck in a finger for hours because there were no tweezers to dig it out. It stung like a wasp's sting. A persistent sting that no matter how hard you wish for it to go away, it just remains. So, in retailiation of my sting, I told my students the truth that no one likes to tell them.
I told them how they know nothing, and they tend to be very content with that. I say content because they CHOOSE not to better themselves. I say content because I don't see the willingness to push themselves, so they are complacent. They seem content to be the best at "our school". That bothers me. Because no student from the inner city can ever be content with anything because as we are fighting to have good ACT scores, or FIGHTING to have higher AP scores, there is a world on the other side of Poplar where Memphis' brightest and best dwell. They read the newspaper. They read the classics. They read and watch the news. They know allusions. They are knowledgeable of current events. They thirst for knowledge. They talk about college at their dinner tables. They read for fun. College is NOT an option with the kids at Central and White Station. They are going, and if students at Sheffield are not careful, they will be working FOR them. I wish they knew the curriculum at a private school or boarding school where all students take AP courses. I wish they knew how easily a 25 or a 27 or a 29 on the ACT is to these students.
In light of all this, I would be remiss as my student's teacher to allow complacence. There is too much at stake. So I told them the truth. I told them that at those other schools, they would be in honors courses. I told them that in reality, they are average right now. To be fair, it isn't their fault entirely. They have had some not so great, uncaring teachers who have limited their intelligence. But, if you choose to never better yourself by READING, then that is YOUR fault. 90% of what I have learned in my life has been by my own efforts: by reading in my spare time. I also adamatly stated that I am not in the business of teaching at their pace. I am not in the business of teaching an average student who wishes to remain that way. I am in the business of working with the serious scholar and pushing them to make a statement to this community. I want my students to show the community here in Sheffield and across this city that Sheffield is capable of turning out the brightest and the best! And I am determined to prove it.
Do not take my class if you are looking for an A. You must earn the A after all of the hoops and mazes I will put you through to get the A. And you will be proud of that A if you do in fact earn it.
Do not take my class if you read for enjoyment. I need students who read for knowledge, and thus your feelings will be hurt. We read nothing but material that will make you think.
Do not take my class if you are not going to do my work. I spend many hours away from my boys to put lessons together that you will enjoy. Don't disrespect or waste my hours I spend on you by not doing my work.
Do not take my class if you don't make yourself understand what you read. You must read for information.
Do not take my class if you are not serious. We are in the middle of a war. A war against the stereotype that Sheffield is the dumping ground in East Memphis. I am the general and I promise you, you will not get shot if you just follow my directions. In fact, following my directions will give you life.
Better yet, I am the coach of this team and I am looking for my squad who I can take to the championship. I am not looking for a playoff team. I deal with winners.
I hope that students know that I am not the average teacher. Therefore, I don't deal with "average" students. There are plenty of other teachers to take that do tolerate this subpar behavior. May even be happy with that because it is so much better than their average students. I told them to feel free to take one of those teachers. I deal with movers and shakers. I deal with dreamers. I deal with doers. To take me is a badge of honor and I intend to keep it that way. And my ship will continue to sail whether you are on the vessel or not. I will love you still, but lose respect for you because it is a shame to see a student give up on him/herself. And sometimes the easy route is the route lazy people must take.
The truth hurts for a little while. But I refuse to lie to them and make them think their actions to not progress is acceptable. They will thank me when they get into the colleges they wish to attend. And they will thank me when all the skills they learned now helps them to compete in three years with their college peers.
I'm good. Hopefully they will be too.
Stop using all this high diction to talk about us. It adds on to the mess we are already in. You are amplifying the problem. We (some of us)read but some of this stuff is dull and that is what you are trying to us. Everything we will read, we won't like and that is the problem I have. "Animal Farm" was the bomb but "Invisible Man" and "Fred Douglass" were like eating salty caviar on saltine crackers with caked on salt. "Huckleberry Finn" is a bit better but I wasn't prepared for those two dry books. The articles and short stories like "Why I Want A Wife" and "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" were was and the Socratic seminars were even better. Another point is you have been dealt the deadly hand of procrastinators. I procrastinate when there is no need to and I'm not the only one. One of your students is seriously thinking about dropping out of the class and I say she is weak. Mrs.Day I'm here to let you know that "I ain't goin nowhere."
ReplyDeleteMichael, I grow to appreciate you more and more each day! And "high diction" is where the wit is lol! But in all honesty, I am not the teacher to take if a student is looking for an easy time and that IS by DESIGN. I selected each student I wanted, and about 7 others asked to take my class, so either the student showed he/she had ability or wanted the opportunity. I know that many of you have not had to work on this level- remember you all went from 10th grade to a college level in a few months, so I expected you all to stumble at first in order to get used to the rigor, but it is November and several people are still sitting and doing nothing! It is time for the students who are trying to do something to stand up so we can do this. Each of you can DO IT. I don't question the intelligence of any student in that class. The question is WILL you? I need to be able to craft that intelligence and strengthen those minds in order to make you mental assassins! I can't do that if you do not read EVERYTHING.
ReplyDeleteThe day you, supposedly, went off on us, I just sat there thinking, “Get off yo soap box.”
DeleteThat silence can man two things: we did not read or you asked a bizarre question using words we have never heard before. When we consider ourselves ready you always add a heaping cup of salt that gives us high blood pressure and a trip to hospital.
You say "Do not take my class if you read for enjoyment." Is not that the purpose of reading? The feeling of enjoyment yet nourished? No matter what we are still going to read for enjoyment and I know Aaliyah will.
After all the hoops and mazes I AM looking for an A. So what? Mrs. Day you have to remember who is reading and replying to this stuff you are posting. Do you expect us to look for something less than a high grade? To be perfectly honest, at the beginning of the school year the main reason I came to school was because AP was on my mind. It is November and the most work I have done and actually cared about was my AP English work.
You have to remember that we have had some HORRIBLE teachers who does not teach us like you do. 9th grade Shalissa and I had the WORST teacher in the world. 10th grade English did not prepare me for AP English. But if they were thinking, they should've been working together so they will know what has and has not been taught.
To address your purpose of reading question- you read for pleasure in your leisure time. Academic reading is reading for information and reading to respond. So I need to stop hearing that some of you didn't read it because you didn't like it or it doesn't interest you. NOTHING on the ACT, AP exams or college material you read will not be stuff you like. And just because you don't like it, doesn't mean you should be HEAVILY critical of it. Like just because you don't like it, something has to be wrong with it. Not necessarily so. You have to read, gain information, process the information and be able to expound on what was said without being dismissive. The point is you have to change your thinking on reading. I agree, this thinking has been tainted because of the lack of quality instruction, but ultimately you have to combat that by reading on your own. Especially in order to gain lost ground on what you may not know.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I mentioned that there are several reasons for silence. On that particular day, the main reason I heard from so few of you is that you didn't read it. Not everybody. But many. By all means, if you did read, I should hear from you!
To address the comment of working together to get you ready, it happens more within the honors/AP track courses. If you took regular English, it is more likely you were not exposed to as much as honors students. More is being done now to prepare both regular and honors track students to get exposure to rigor. One of the major reasons I elected to move down to 9th grade. Please feel free to come to my 1st period. They have already written a problem solution, character analysis and are working on an argument synthesis.
At any rate, soap box or not, the goal was to weed out, or get my soldiers to step up. As a consequence of this, I have seen everybody who took my words to heart step up. And as a teacher, I have adjusted some plans, such as extending due dates, etc. If you are here to work, I work with you and I listen to my students when procrastination isn't the reason you all speak out. But a fire needed to be lit, point blank period.
And we all know that in many other classes, you get n A without doing barely anything. That was the reasoning behind the comment. You can't look for an A with me if there is no effort and hardworking behind it. Some people in the course are looking for an A or B, yet have done hardly anything, haven't read, but are crying foul when they get a D or F on the report card. If that's what you were going to do, why did you take the course?? Everybody had a choice. And the students who do try, such as yourself, come to me when they need help or email me when they need to. Effort. And effort is always rewarded.
ReplyDeleteI thank you for replying to my statements in a nice and non violent manner. I am a questioner, I question everything put in front of my face. i go by the words of George Carlin, “Don’t just teach your children to read… Teach them to question what they read.Teach them to question everything.”
ReplyDeleteAnd I have no problem with a question or a good challenge. I am very glad you took the course!
ReplyDelete