Monday, Dec. 06, 2004
Fuck that book, posted at 9:05 p.m.
Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com Last Thursday, I had a girl loudly say, "Fuck that book" in class. There are moments when teaching when you decide if you want to ignore something or not. Tons of them. Well, this was not something I wanted to ignore. She didn't say it to me, but she said it loud enough for me to hear, and it was the day after this particular class had pissed me off big time and I was being tough as hell with them. So I wrote up the girl.Lo and behold, she was suspended for three days. It was because of previous things she's done more than my referral, but it still shocked me. First, I don't particularly think a three day suspension is warranted. I said that in the English office, and a veteran teacher said, "You know, it might be just because that's what you've been conditioned to expect. But maybe kids should be suspended for using the F word in class."
Another colleague joined in: "I hate to say it, but I really think it's a latent racism, like you can't expect these kids to act better because they're black. Well, you can expect it, and this is just holding them accountable."
I found this very insightful. I think that's why I like working at my school. We have high expectations for our kids. And I do. I'm working my 9th graders to the bone right now. (Not so much my 11th graders, but it's because I don't know the curriculum as well and am feeling my way through it a little.) I don't care that they're, for the most part, black. I would teach an all white class the same way. And the kids rise up. So fuck that book indeed. See you in three days, Shantira.
I'm really excited about the 4-pronged assessment I handed out for the Odyssey today. I hope it works well. The kids have to (1) track a theme or idea throughout the entire epic poem and write an essay about it; (2) complete a creative project, like a board game, that correlates with the text; (3) write a 200-300 line new adventure for The Odyssey in the style of Homer; and (4) in groups, act out a scene, create a mock trial, or create a radio program for an adventure/episode of their choice. I handed out all four of them today, but only one is due before the holidays, so I don't think it's too overwhelming.