We are watching the movie Freedom Writers ... OMG .... I can so relate!!
Okay ... I did not work in an Urban High School .... I worked in a Suburban High School. And the Gangs weren't as bad .... but there were Gangs. I didn't have the same effect she had ... but I affected many many lives .....
I taught Math ... not English ...
But ... here is the deal ... there was something called "writing across the curriculum" in our school. Every class had to do writing assignments. Even math classes. A lot of Math teachers made their students write their answers to their Math problems in full sentences. But not me! I always hated having to put my answers into full sentences ... "John bought 4 lbs of almonds and 6 pounds of peanuts on his last trip to the Nut House". Whatever!!
No .... I had to be different. But I had to make them write. So ... I bought at book called " The Book of Questions" by Gregory Stock ... and every morning I would write a "Question of the Day" in a corner of the board. At the begining of each class, students had to write out at least a paragraph response to questions like ... "What was you worst experience with blood?" ... "Would you rather be blind or deaf? Why?" .... "What 3 people would you like to have join you for dinner tonight?" .... etc.
This book has 100's of interesting questions. Some of them were inappropriate to ask high schoolers .... so I avoided those .... some of them were really gross, like ... "Would you be willing to eat a bowl of live crickets for $40,000?" .... the kids loved those .... some were very intense, asking very serious life or death questions and most students took these questions very seriously.
On Fridays, I would collect their paragraphs. They all received a grade for participation .... but I did not grade the paragraphs otherwise. I did, however, read them. I would read them and write comments on them ... reply to their thoughts, encourage, prod, praise, laugh ...
This took a great deal of time. I was their Math teacher ... and still had tests and quizzes and homework and make-up work to grade and record. But these Question of the Day writings were important and I tried to keep up with them so that I could return them to the students on Mondays. They loved getting the sheets back from me and seeing the comments I had written. I loved getting to know the students better through their answers to these questions.
I started this when I came to Lewisville High School in 1994. I continued with it at The Colony High School until 2004. During that time, I got to know the souls of some wonderful young people. I learned about their heartaches and their dreams, their anger and their joys, their failures and their successes. I offered very little advice, I was mostly just an ear. About once a year or so, I would read of someone planning to hurt themselves somehow ... and I would try very hard to pull them back from that edge. To the best of my knowledge, I was successful with that ... but those were very scary things to read and I often feared I would be too late, or do too little.
More later .... gotta go tutor ....
1 comment:
You know what Cin....the "writing across the curriculum" thing used to perplex me...but I won't get on my "Education Soap Box". I will say, you used it in one of the most creative and helpful ways. You are a wonderfully gifted teacher and yes, you have affected many lives. I know you've heard of the wonderful saying "A hundred years from now....." And it ends with "...What matters is that I was important in life of one child." (or something like that!) You are so deserving of that!
I saw the previews of Freedom Writers...I think I will order it.
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