"Change the Lyrics!" Club

     So, I am charged with a monthly club that meets to discover how to do something that happens to be one of my passions. We change the lyrics to well-known songs in order to make them educational and help students learn some facts that pertain to a particular subject matter that might be difficult to retain otherwise.

     I was a bit apprehensive at first, but now I'm really excited about the potential that can be realized with these kids. I want to give them the freedom to choose the song, the subject matter, and even whether they are going to collaborate with others or simply fly solo.

     I started to wonder why I was so apprehensive in the first place. I guess it was a comfort zone issue? I'm used to my ESL crew. They know me, I know them... We have a groove. I know the rest of the student population in passing. Most of them have heard of me, but the experience is not mutual unless it's due to notoriety unfortunately... and I can't stand making assumptions based on other teachers' evaluations of a particular student's behavior, but there are times when I can't help but do so because a lot of the time those assessments are valid.

     Everytime I find myself meeting a new student, though, I do put in a great deal of effort to make sure that they have a clean slate with me and, for the most part, it works out really well. This experience was no different. The students were well-behaved and attentive. They showed genuine interest in acquiring the skills I find to be necessary in not just doing this activity, but doing it well. I was pleasantly surprised by their demeanor and not so surprised by their overall reluctance to vocalize their suggestions in front of their peers (seventh graders are excellent intimidators).

     Maybe it had to do with the way I delivered the material. I really enjoy using innovative technology that has only recently emerged as potential teaching tools. New techniques of communicating ideas are constantly coming into play and Prezi is one of my more recent discoveries. The kids aren't that familiar with it yet, so I enjoy playing around with it to see its capabilities. It's only getting better!

     Either way, the kids got the point, they were learning something that they can use for their benefit, and they exceeded my expectations for their behavior. Most of the time, it feels one-sided, but it seems like we taught each other a little something something this time around.

What if academic achievement was, by far, the biggest factor in determining popularity?

     I keep wondering how this question could affect my students' lives if they would truly take the time to search themselves for the answer. They only get one shot at this. We all did... and some weird mixture of serendipitous experiences and wise (or not-so-wise) choices are what has landed us wherever we are right now.

     Imagine for a moment, though, that as a child, the only way to connect to others... to acquire that attention which most children desire to some extent or another from peers (especially by the time adolescence kicks in)... was to thrive academically.

     How radical would that be? It's obviously possible. There are so many countries in the world whose children revere education, yet for the vast majority of our country's middle- to high school-age counterparts, being academically smart is social suicide. How did we get here?? More importantly, how do we, as educators, incite a cultural shift towards academic success as a means to achieving social popularity?

     Well, as Jim Collins might put it: "You need to get the right people on the bus." In his 2001 book, "Good to Great," Collins describes the secrets to success of companies considered to have achieved sustainable greatness, one of which was "getting the right people on the bus." We need to see the strengths in all of our students and put them in situations where they can experience true success. It's important that we do a better job of recognizing those qualities that each and every one of our students possess... the ones that are so strong, they practically define each child uniquely. When we find them, we have to expose them. Success feels good. That's a universal truth... a cosmic law even. Even better, success is addictive. So why do we seem to be so busy constantly shutting our students down from their venues of achieving success instead of pushing them towards it?

     You see, I think that there is an unnecessary division in most schools between teacher and student. A lot of us ask them questions like, "Do you think that's the appropriate thing to be doing right now?" or offer senseless comments such as, "You obviously came unprepared today again," ...and yeah, I know! It's frustrating to see kids show up to class for the umpteenth time without a pencil! There are better ways than humiliating them in front of their peers to get them to do what you want them to do though.

     Many of today's educators still seem to be stuck in the "I-say-and-you-do-as-I-say" mode of teaching. I don't see why we can't shed that exoskeleton, break down the wall, insert your own additional quirky metaphor here, and connect to our students on a personable level. I'm not saying let's revert to the 70's and become hippies. I think the best teachers connect to their students in such a flawless and genuine way. When our students recognize us as able to relate, they listen a whole lot more (though many of them may take a lot more time to get to that point than others). Either way, I find that connecting to our kids is the first step towards getting them to find worth in (and therefore actually pay attention to) anything that you have to say. At this point, they're "waiting at the stop."

     Next, you need to know your kids! What makes them tick? I'm not asking for their favorite color. That's fluff. This kind of knowing requires time, and your ability as a teacher to not just talk, but listen as well. Take a chance and make yourself vulnerable to them. Trust them with something other teachers may not know about you. Take this opportunity seriously. Think about it. Why did you become a teacher: to change the lives of children who are lucky enough to meet you for the better or to gain recognition from and maintain a pleasant relationship with your colleagues??

     After you've found common ground and connected, it's important to strengthen that link so the students know you have their best interests in mind. I like to think that a level of mutual respect is reached if this connection is nurtured correctly. As an ESL teacher, I tap into my experiences abroad as an exchange student to show them that I understand where they're coming from (at least to a certain extent... for example, I chose to go while most of them had no say in the decision). Now we're getting somewhere. Here, the bus is pulling to a halt right in front of our kiddos.

     Now that we know them, it's time to show them. We need to exploit our kids' unique qualities! It's our job to help our kids find out who they are. We have to direct them often towards situations where they can experience success. Let them get a taste of the good life, for crying out loud! The trick is getting their peers to see the value in that success as well, rather than cut it down.

     My experience is that normally kids cut each other's successes down due to motives revolving around sentiments of jealousy and the like. Who likes to see others accomplishing when they feel as if they are incapable of doing the same? If we can show our kids that they are all capable of success, I think that these impediments caused by the green-eyed monster will wither away.

     So... back to our essential question, if you will. I would answer it this way:

If academic achievement was, by far, the biggest factor in determining one's popularity, I think that I would still have it good because I'm smart and funny (just kidding, but I rest my case). I am a fortunate soul. I am a conglomeration of the love and positive affirmation I have continually received from friends and family. It is why I am where I am today. Students in our charge, however, may not be as lucky as I consider myself to be. They may not wake up to somebody wishing them a good day and encouraging them to do well, be their best, learn something worthwhile, etc. Perhaps they have "friends" who encourage the maintenance of the status quo. Maybe the only positive voice they have a chance to hear is ours, in which case, we better not screw this up. Find a way to get your kids on the bus, would ya? Change the trajectory of a life or two. The effects may be exponential.

Today, Sandy Hook Elementary... Tomorrow?

Sunday, December 16, 2012 -     I got ready for church this morning. My son... my 5-year-old son... sat on the couch, munching on some cinnamon-flavored waffles, while my daughter was still mustering up the energy to pry open one of her eyes in preparation for the day before her.

     This mischievous daughter of ours, later wide awake, locked us out of our bedroom while I was in her bedroom, choosing clothes for her to put on for the day. Our son was oblivious to everything going on around him because American Ninja Warrior is more important than the universe when it's on TV (thanks, on-demand). Door knob disassembly took about 15 minutes (and a few vexing facial expressions) to rectify.

     Already running behind schedule, our kids were playing in the foyer as we were gathering the last of our Sunday routine necessities when we hear our son, "Mama! Mama! I... I think my tooth fell out!"



     Now, this sucker had been loose for awhile, so its exit was no real surprise. However, the subsequent words, "...but I don't know where it went!" left us searching the kitchen floor for another 15 minutes to no avail (we later found it in the playroom... go figure).

     We finally went to church as a family... arriving late as a family. My wife and I enjoyed the sermon. It was a very poignant topic and even took into account Friday's horrific events. Afterwards, the kids gave us an account of what they think they learned in Sunday school, and we ventured to Ikea because their restaurant prices are phenomenal, not to mention that the kids would be able to have fun in Småland while my wife and I could relax and recharge in preparation for the coming week.

     We came home and finished helping the kids butcher the Christmas cards we put our hearts into helping them make for their friends and teachers in their own loving, yet extremely careless, way. We enjoyed each other's company and quirky personalities and my wife and I ended the day by tucking them into bed, letting them know we love them, and cuddling up on the couch a bit for some midnight pancakes (dinner) before we went to bed ourselves... another typical Sunday.

Saturday, December 15, 2012 -     I awoke to my alarm clock alerting me to the fact that I had hit its snooze button a good seven times, sufficiently whittling down the minutes that our family had to eat breakfast and get ready to get to our son's basketball game exactly on time as long as we rushed.

      As we parents sat in the bleachers, watching our 4- and 5-year-olds attempt to do something in the local YMCA gymnasium that kind of resembled a basketball game, I couldn't help but feel a bit distant at some points of the game. I knew that there were parents who were supposed to be doing what I was doing this morning, but couldn't. Their whole lives had been brought to an excruciating halt the day before.

     Between meals, we played video games and began creating our Christmas cards for the rest of that day. I reintroduced my son to "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" and we all spent some quality time at a Christmas party where my daughter acquired a wonderfully aesthetic welt after an altercation occurred between her older brother and herself over who would get to use the bathroom first before we left for the night. Let's just say that, for the next few days at least, I can stick a pair of glasses on her and call her Harry Potter's estranged twin sister, Harriet... and this was a good night.

Friday, December 14, 2012 -     While monitoring my students on a computer program in the school library, the librarian lets me know that another school shooting has occurred... in an elementary school... and that there were definitely casualties. I caught up with what was happening as best as I could during my lunch hour and subsequent prep period, but all I kept coming up with were more and more questions about how and why, etc.

     I texted the news to my wife and wanted to discuss what was happening with others, but felt as though I had to "keep my cool," so to speak. It wasn't the right time or place for this conversation to happen. I just kept thinking, "These are kids my son's age... These are adults in my profession..." I started thinking about the staff members who undoubtedly lay their lives down for the sake of those children.

     When I got home, after I gave my kids big bear hugs before rubbing their backs as they fell asleep, I had that conversation I was longing to have with my wife... and I felt much better even though it didn't change the utter turmoil within my soul.

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     I don't know what to make of all of this. This could have happened anywhere. It could have happened in my very own school. I know God was there during this event just as He is there now for the ones who lost an integral part of their family that day. I know we can't understand why in the world this was allowed to happen, but have faith that good will come of this evil.

     I can't help but feel some strange amount of "survivor's guilt" if we can call it that. Colleagues and children that got up that morning ready for another day perished while we are still here... and, aside from praying, all I can do is wonder why and trust God.

     I just know that I don't want to forget. I don't want this event to just blur into and merge with the plethora of prior similar mass murders. We will move on, yes, but towards something better. Towards an end that makes this event matter. What will change because of the loss of this innocence? What will you do to not let this have happened in complete vain? ...what will we do?