EVENING ON GRANITE STREET

He carefully climbed the hill

on his bike, then brought it

to a stop in the evening light.

Look, he thought, look

at the love that’s everywhere.

Look at this little earth

lit up under a lit up sky.

The sentences of his thoughts

shone in his mind

like lamps someone had switched on

but not him.

TEACHING JOURNAL

Day 38, Friday, October 31

During a break in today's classes, I leaned back in my chair and watched the leaves slowly dropping from a tree beside my classroom. It was a nearly windless day late in the season, so the old, crinkled leaves fell at a leisurely pace, one by one. It sometimes seemed like several minutes would pass before another leaf would drift languidly to the ground. It got me thinking (as almost anything does) about teaching. I realized that the old leaves fall only when they are totally ready to fall, when their exact time has come. There's no sense of rushing involved, but rather a great sense of patience and inevitability. The leaves will fall when they will. Unlike our human world of relentless haste and urgency, the tree and its leaves live lives of peaceful inexorableness. As I watched the tree, and waited for my next class to assemble, I hoped I might teach them just the way the leaves were falling -- steadily, gently, and quietly.

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We had a major water spill in one of the classes, and instantly a group of students leapt up to assist in the clean-up. We've had spills before, and the kids have learned to respond quickly and quietly, making sure to not interrupt the lesson. It was wonderful to see five or six students silently grabbing paper towels and tissues and assiduously working to clean up the table. Unfortunately, the spill was at my table, so I was unable to continue with the lesson for a few minutes, but I fully believe I could have. I think the kids (including the ones working on the clean-up) would have stayed fairly focused. It's a tribute to their maturity and good sense. 

TEACHING JOURNAL

Day 37, Thursday, October 30

G is for Gyroscope (first written in October 2006, revised October 2008)

I would like my teaching to function the way a gyroscope does. In a gyroscope, the wheel spinning on its axle tends to resist any outside changes; it keeps spinning in its same orientation, no matter what the outer frames do. It’s a fascinating device to watch. You can turn the outer frames in any direction as quickly as you wish, and the spinning rotor will continue to maintain its same axis direction. I would like to teach that way. As with the gyroscope, there are countless outside forces that twirl around me as I go about my daily work in the classroom, and my hope is that I can maintain my orientation no matter what. As its outer frames shift and alter, the wheel in the gyroscope keeps spinning fluidly on the same axis, and I hope I can keep steadily on the right path no matter what turmoil seems to be occurring around me. In a way, my classroom is like a ship far out at sea, heading for a definite destination on the horizon. The ship needs to stay stable no matter how strong the storms or how high the waves, and I need to maintain the equilibrium of English class so we remain safely on course. If things go wrong one day, my teaching needs to be able to even itself out so that the curriculum can continue on course. Of course, my students also need to operate like gyroscopes. In their bustling, sometimes volatile lives, it would be easy for them to go spinning off in a destructive direction. My hope is that I can teach them how to maintain their balance in the midst of the pressures of reading puzzling stories and writing intricate essays. Together, perhaps the scholars and I can keep the gyroscopic wheel of Room 2 smoothly spinning.

SO LONG

One morning he made
the ten thousand things-to-do
dance down the street
and disappear. So long,
he shouted, and then
there was silence
and nothing to do.
The clock kept ticking
and his hands rested
on the brown table top.

THE END OF AUTUMN

He heard the songs of the clouds

and of the wise leaves letting go.

There were whispers in the grass

of shiftings and transformations,

and snow was saying poems in the distance. 

There were white thoughts inside him.

Teaching Journal
Day 36, October 29, 2008

I did a little dictionary work with the word “levity” this morning, and discovered some connections to my work as a middle school English teacher. The first definition I found mentioned “lightness of manner or speech, especially when inappropriate”, and this is definitely not the kind of levity I want to promote in my classroom. This is the levity of the playground and after-school hours, when kids can be their light-hearted selves, adults be damned, but it will never have a place in my classroom. In my classes I expect the spoken words of the students to be fairly heavy with meaning instead of light with nonsense. However, another definition used the words “inconstancy and changeableness”, which made me think more positively about levity as a classroom mood. Changeableness is vital in an English classroom, because nothing is more changeable or inconstant than language and literature. We English teachers deal mainly with thoughts and words, two of the most unsettled and unpredictable entities in the universe, and so it should be natural for an English teacher to foster an appreciation of uncertainty and capriciousness. Yes, I like to have order in my classroom, but the students must realize that it’s a superficial order, hidden beneath which is the ever-varying world of ideas and words and books. The last definition I found said levity referred to “the state or quality of being light or buoyant”, and I immediately knew this was an important quality for my classroom. My students and I both need to work on taking life more lightly than seriously. In the really big picture, putting commas in the right place is not terribly important. When people are dying by the millions due to starvation, it’s not all that serious that one of my lesson plans flops like a pancake. The kids and I need to be buoyant enough to rise above things and realize that the universe is running pretty smoothly, thank you very much. A little of that kind of levity in Room 2 wouldn’t hurt at all.
...........................
One of the quietest students in my classes made an absolutely brilliant comment today. In the midst of a discussion about a puzzling short story by Katherine Mansfield, this lad raised his hand and promptly astounded us by making a subtle comparison between the story and a French poem we had studied a few weeks back. The students were enthralled, I think, as they listened to their normally taciturn classmate. When he had finished, I praised him and told him we would love to hear more from him in class, and I heard several words of agreement from the class. It was an extraordinary moment.

Teaching Journal
Day 35, October 28, 2008

LIGHT RATHER THAN HEAT
Perhaps the best way to describe one of my goals as an English teacher is to say that I’m more interested in light than in heat. That hasn’t always been the case. For the first many years of my career, I was a ‘heat’ guy in the classroom – always trying to stir up excitement, always looking for ways to ignite emotions, always looking to “light a fire”. In those early days, teaching, for me, was more of a wild adventure than an accomplished discipline. I’m afraid I was devoted to generating fiery intensity more than clear thinking. In the latter part of my career, however, I have given more time to just allowing the light of intelligence to suffuse my classroom. I’ve quit being the busybody builder of fires and started being the quiet observer of the vivid light of my students’ thoughts. I’ve learned that I don’t need to create the learning as much as allow it to happen. The light of intelligence is always present when kids and a teacher get together. I’m learning simply to stand out of the way of that light.
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This morning, as we were discussing an enigmatic short story in a 9th grade class, a particularly puzzling group of sentences was brought up. I quickly admitted that, despite having read the story many times, I still had no idea what the sentences might mean. A boy sitting next to me on the circle quickly raised his hand and said he thought he could explain the sentences, which he proceeded to do – clearly and thoroughly. I was delighted as I listened. Here was a 14-year-old boy who understand the puzzling writing of a celebrated classic author far better than his 66-year-old teacher. Here was the student teaching the teacher. It was a magical moment, the kind I have luckily experienced hundreds of times.
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I noticed, during quiet reading time, that one girl was completely absorbed in her book. For the entire 6-minute period, her head was down over the pages and hardly a muscle moved. It was literary intensity at its best. If my supervisors want to see me doing my finest teaching, they should probably visit during quiet reading time.

EVERLASTNG

It’s everlasting, he said.

The bedspreads, the fans,

the flowing winds, the skies

that stand across us like sentinels.

It’s all everlasting, he said,

even the thoughts tossed toward us

like Frisbees

from who knows where,

even the words we say

that sparkle in the sky

for centuries to come.

He said all this

as dawn

decided to speak in the east.

Teaching Journal
Day 34, Monday, October 27, 2008

ON WORKING HARD TO SLOW DOWN
When I heard someone say the other day that they had to work very hard to make themselves slow down, I immediately loved that seeming contradiction and decided that it should become one of my important goals as a teacher. Strange as it sounds, it does take hard work to slow down. Like most of us, I am often tempted to think that going fast means accomplishing more – that speed equals efficiency – but the truth is very different. In teaching, and in my life, I have discovered over and over again that only by slowing down do I truly experience an activity or a situation – but slowing down takes an immense amount of energy and concentration. I have been conditioned to believe in the value of haste and hurry, and overcoming that conditioning takes serious devotion and persistence. As I work with the students each day, I have to browbeat myself to keep in mind the importance of slowness and deliberateness and carefulness. During class I have to constantly push myself to decelerate, put on the brakes, watch, listen, and wait. It’s hard work. At the end of a day, I’m often exhausted, not from going fast but from slowing down.
........
This morning I saw again how much the students enjoy being the “teacher’s assistant”. The boy who is the TA this week had a wonderful time in class as he led the students through a simple lesson on finding subjects and verbs. I could see that he was feeling a sense of dignity and importance. His posture was upright and his entire demeanor radiated self-assurance and determination.
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As the students were working through a lesson with the TA, I was sitting at the table observing and taking notes -- but also, I must confess, looking out the window now and then. Like the scholars, I was occasionally distracted by the beauties of nature in the garden outside the classroom – the colorful trees, and the birds flitting back and forth to the feeder. It was a lovely scene, just as lovely as a group of children being serious students at a round table, and I found it hard to focus on just one or the other. I hope the students didn’t notice my eyes wandering now and then to the windows.
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In one class a girl came without her casual reading book, so she sat for the six-minute reading period and did nothing. My first thought, of course, was that it was a “waste of time”. I guess I’ve been habituated to thinking that “doing nothing” is never an acceptable way of spending time. However, in the next moment, the question “why?” came to my mind. Why is it so bad to do nothing? Why, in the middle of a busy day, is it wrong for a young girl to sit silently and peacefully for a few minutes?
............................
Ah, such good classes today! How did I ever get so lucky to be a teacher of teenagers at this little school? Everything seemed perfect today. The lessons proceeded in a leisurely but efficient manner, and the children were thoroughly focused scholars. Plus, by happenstance, the weather beyond the windows was the best of golden autumn.

SURELY

Someone said “surely”,

and it started him thinking.

Surely the sun is shining somewhere,

and surely some streets

are carrying cars

where they wish to go.

Surely someone is taking a step

that needs to be taken,

and surely a clock is clicking

with precision

even while storms surely

start their proceedings

in the distance.

Surely girls in Westerly

will sing today,

because surely there's music

at the center of sorrow,

and surely these words

will shine,

wither, and wilt

like fall’s leaves.

Teaching Journal
Day 33, Friday, October 24, 2008

I noticed this morning that a normally reticent student seems to be emerging as a leader in his collaboration group. The project involves designing a website based on the theme of “initiation”, and, as I listened to the group discuss their plans, it was clear that this lad had some technical skills that would be helpful to the group. He was obviously feeling pretty good about the situation. Even his posture showed his newfound position of leadership. He was leaning forward in his chair, eyes narrowed in concentration, face as calm as a clear sky.
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I also noticed that another boy – a student who has often struggled in areas related to English – is a whiz when it comes to grammar items. He seems to have an innate understanding of how our language works, despite the fact that he has to seriously toil when he’s putting it down on paper. He instantly, and with great confidence, answers most of the questions on oral grammar quizzes. The way grammatical insights flow out of him, he sometimes sounds like a young professor of English. Strange, that a boy with such a shrewd understanding of the makeup of a language would have so much difficulty using that language in writing.
..................
In all the classes today, the students did a few minutes of “freestyle” writing as they listened to songs (“Desperado” by The Eagles and “Swallowed in the Sea” by Coldplay), and, as always, I was beguiled by the beauty and depth of the writing. As I was reading the pieces aloud to the students, I sometimes found myself disbelieving that they were written by 14-year-olds, and in just 10 minutes. Some of what they wrote was refined, graceful, and inspiring. Who can explain this?

Teaching Journal
Day 32, Thursday, October 23, 2008

On Unselfish Teaching
This morning, as I was putting the finishing touches on my lesson plans and trying to decide whether to give the 9th graders an entire period to work in groups on their collaboration projects, I suddenly understood why I was reluctant to do that. I was simply being selfish. I didn’t want to let the kids work on their own because it would mean I wouldn’t be front and center. I wouldn’t be the star of the show. The scholars would be accomplishing things by themselves without my help, which would mean I would be relegated to the sidelines, the background, the scenery. It made me sad, I must confess – sad that I wasn’t in charge, wasn’t the boss, wasn’t the headliner. It worries me that such selfishness plays a part in my teaching. It worries me that I can so easily forget that teaching is never about the teacher, never about grandstanding, never about trying to build up my ego. Teaching is about students and knowledge, period.

Tomorrow I will allow the 9th graders to work on their own in their groups. I will stand on the sidelines, watching them be the stars of their own wonderful shows.
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I gave an in-class essay to the 8th grade classes today, involving an unusual heart-shaped object that I brought from home. I hung it from the ceiling, and, as the kids were writing, I noticed several of them occasionally staring at the heart. It was interesting to see the look of absorption on their faces as they gazed at the heart and searched for ideas for their essays. In one case, a girl’s face seemed to catch the softness of the classroom light as she looked up at the heart. It was a picture of youthful beauty and total concentration.
....................
In the 9th grade classes, we talked, again, about grammatical topics –especially the effective use of repetition in writing – and this time I put up on the screen some passages by Zora Neale Hurston and Ernest Hemingway for analysis. It was great fun (for me, at least) to relate the study of a grammar item to the study of great writers. If the students were able to gain even a glimpse of the fact that grammar plays a part in the graceful writing of the masters, I would be more than satisfied.

Teaching Journal

Day 31, Wednesday, October 22, 2008

The thought reoccurred to me today that I need to develop some hand signals to remind kids to stay attentive during class. There were many drifting eyes and faraway looks today, and it would have helped if I had a few simple gestures that could have quickly helped the kids regain their focus. I will work on that in the next few days.

……………………….

Oddly enough, even with the usual amount of student woolgathering, today’s classes, I thought – especially the 9^th grade – were some of the best of the year. With the 9^th graders, I have thoroughly enjoyed the new technology I’m using this year, and today was a perfect example of what it’s done for my teaching. The students are putting all their formal writings on their class blogs, and today we used the projector to look at a few of this week’s essays (works-in- progress, with the final copies due on Friday). It was – at least for me – a fantastic educational experience, especially because, in doing it, I stumbled upon a wonderful way to teach grammar. (I’ve been searching for such a way for my entire career.) On the screen I showed two websites side by side: a student’s blog with her essay, and a webpage describing some important grammar items. The first grammar item was "active voice". We read a brief definition of it, discussed it for a few minutes, and then studied the verbs in the student’s essay, looking for active voice. In just a few minutes, we were able to discuss all the verbs in the paragraph and decide if they were active (or passive) voice, occasionally checking back with the other website to remind ourselves of the definition. All of this was done very efficiently (no rummaging in binders to find a handout, no lost textbooks) and, I have a hunch, fairly effectively. In addition – and importantly — it gave us another chance to look at and praise a student’s work. Teaching grammar by examining and extolling a student’s essay: that’s the path I’ve been seeking for dozens of years!

Teaching Journal
Day 30, Tuesday, October 21, 2008

On Preparing

In the newspaper this morning, a football coach was quoted on the importance of preparation: “If we prepare well during the week,” he said, “we’ll have an excellent game on Sunday.” I did a little work in one of my favorite dictionaries and found several definitions for the word “prepare”, each of which sheds light on my work as a teacher of middle school students. One meaning of the word is “to make ready beforehand for a specific purpose, as for an event or occasion”, which is something I do each day, usually early in the morning before school. English class, for me, is an “event”, in the way that a rock concert is an event. It’s a special occasion for me (if not for my students), a time when we gather to experience something out of the ordinary, and I must be thoroughly prepared . Another definition says the word means “ to put together or make by combining various elements or ingredients, as in ‘prepared a meal’” – and I guess you could say I prepare a “meal’ each day for the scholars and me. I’m a sort of a chef, I suppose – carefully mixing activities to create a lesson that will, hopefully, be both exciting and beneficial. And one last definition: No doubt I am, in a sense, engaged in preparing the students for a journey, of sorts – an expedition through their many years of English classes. My job is to outfit them with all the tools and skills they will need to survive and prosper in their future literary studies. Like a skilled ship’s chandler, or a football coach, I must thoroughly equip them for the arduous adventures ahead.
.......
I must remember to not use the word “quickly” when I’m talking about an activity in class. This morning I said to an 8th grade class, “Let’s quickly look at the assignment”, which surely implants the notion that the assignment is relatively unimportant and therefore deserves only a superficial glance. Whatever I plan to do in class is important and therefore should be done carefully rather than quickly. It doesn’t mean we have to spend long lengths of time on each activity, but that we should do each one with the utmost care. Even a 2-minute examination of an assignment can be carried out with precision and thoroughness.

Teaching Journal
Day 29, October 20, 2008

One Teacher’s Idioms: “A Blessing in Disguise”

This has become one of my favorite idioms, mostly because I find blessings in disguise everywhere. In fact, to me, everything seems to be a concealed blessing – even the boy in my English class who can’t seem to focus his attention on anything related to English. Today this lad’s attention was everywhere but on what we were doing in class, but somehow I feel that his lack of concentration, in the long run, will be helpful to both him and me. Instead of fretting about it, I’m feeling strangely positive about what it means for both of us. For the boy, his inattentiveness will – because I'll remind him about it now and again – give him something specific to work on throughout the year. It’s another skill, like trapping the ball in soccer, that he can take pride in improving as the weeks pass. When I present him with stickers for being attentive, or just pat him on the back. he will feel proud that he was able to accomplish a difficult feat – a feeling that would be unavailable to him were it not for his lack of attentiveness today. As for me, my student's lack of focus is a blessing in the form of a wake up call to remember that 8th grade English can be deadly boring. No matter how carefully I plan my lessons, no matter how many “exciting” twists I try to put into them, the activities of English class are often no more exciting to a teenager than the activities on a deserted street. This boy may have an unusual problem with inattentiveness, but he may also simply be bored to death by my teaching style. A wake up call for Mr. Salsich: There are a zillion things more thrilling than your English class.
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One boy in particular was a star today when we were listening to an audio recording of a rather abstruse story by Bret Harte. Occasionally I paused the recording and asked the students if they were following what was happening, and this boy was one of the very few who were. Again and again he raised his hand and told us exactly who was who and what was what in the story. I was surprised by this, mostly because I knew that when I was his age, I would probably have been utterly bewildered by this story. I complimented him on his literary acumen and received a shy smile and a thank you in return.

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I have been thinking lately that I would like to think of the 8th and 9th grade scholars as my "guests" in English class. They come to my classroom to "visit" each day, and it is my duty, as the host, to treat them like the honored guests they are. I should do whatever I can to make them feel throughly welcome and comfortable.

Teaching Journal 08-09

Day 28, Friday, October 17

I need to keep in mind that there are many ways a small group can work effectively. Student collaboration groups don't have to always be sitting nicely together at a table with heads bent together in conversation. That's one way, of course -- and often an effective one -- but students can also work together by doing independent tasks and then coming back together to share. If I see a boy sitting at a computer by himself, it doesn't necessarily mean he is not an effective member of his group. Likewise, if two kids are standing together and laughing quietly, it might well be that they are enjoying some new ideas for their current project. As usual, I need to stay open to a multitude of possibilities. Both God and teenage scholars work in mysterious ways.

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In one class the designated server was absent today, so another girl quickly volunteered to serve the refreshments. She seemed excited -- maybe even thrilled -- to have the opportunity. She bounced up quickly and did a masterful job of bringing crackers and cups of ice water to everyone. It was surprising to me that she was so eager to do it. Could it be that some students (perhaps many) actually love the idea of serving their classmates? Could it be that this girl woke up this morning saying, "I wish I could be the server in English class today"?

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An interesting side-effect of being the designated server is that you don't get to participate in the 7 minutes of quiet reading at the start of each class -- and that's a major disappointment to some students. I saw that in one of the servers today. She came into my room and immediately settled into her book, and when I reminded her about serving, there was a trace of disappointment in her face. She did a fine job of serving, but it made me realize that being the server is a true sacrifice for some of the scholars -- which, I guess, makes the service all the more special.

Teaching Journal 08-09

Day 27, Thursday, October 16



Today I felt like a failure for part of the day, but that's not necessarily bad. As odd as it might sound, I'm learning to have a more positive attitude toward failure -- learning that failure is as inevitable, as necessary, even as helpful, as storms after a stretch of sunny days. I'm learning to learn from failure instead of running from it in disgust. I'm learning to accept it into my life the way I would accept an excellent teacher. I'm learning to sit at the feet of failure and see what lessons it can offer. Today, I must confess, it offered a multitude of lessons, because there seemed to be a lot of it. Things didn't go well in my teaching. In two classes, I taught a lesson that just plain didn't work, and in the other two I talked way too much. As a teacher, I stumbled today, and I didn't like the feeling ... but I'm already learning from it. One lesson I'm learning is to be a little more compassionate. Because of my failures today, I'm feeling what millions of teachers feel on any given day – distress, disappointment, and discouragement – and this will surely help me be more understanding, more aware of what so many of my world-wide colleagues live with now and then. There’s no doubt that compassion is a worthy virtue, and perhaps the best and easiest way to gain it is to fail. When we fail, we know how others feel. We walk in others’ shoes, feel what they feel, and perhaps join them somewhat in their suffering. In that sense, failure is a gift – a valuable donation toward our education. I guess, then, I should be grateful for my classroom failures today. Perhaps I should say to the failures what my students say to me when they leave my classroom: “Thank you.”

Teaching Journal 08-09

Day 26, Wednesday, October 15

A Grateful Heart

An old church hymn asks for "a grateful heart that loves and blesses all", and this morning I got to thinking about the word "all". The hymn doesn't say "blesses some", or "blesses the good things that happen", or "blesses students that do what I want them to do". It says "all" -- as in everything that happens, everything that comes my way, the successes and failures, the helpful and unhelpful, the classroom triumphs and and the classroom disasters. Every aspect of my life, the hymn suggests, should be unreservedly blessed. I should bless, or show mercy, to everything that happens, because, as Shakeseare said, mercy, or blessings, should not be "strained", but should be handed out the way "the gentle rain of heaven" falls upon the earth -- indiscriminately, unconditionally, thoroughly. Rain falls on the bad and the beautiful, and so should my blessings. As a teacher today, I hope to remember that.

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It was interesting to see a boy smiling and enjoying his friends' company this afternoon, not too many minutes after receiving a low grade on an essay. The resiliency of children is always refreshing to observe. To this spirited lad, the low grade was like a passing thundershower -- something to be endured until the next comradely activity comes along.

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While a 9th grade boy was speaking during a discussion, I couldn't help but notice how nervous he was. His face was flushed and his breathing seemed broken and disordered. His young words sounded like they were loaded with fears and insecurities. Each one came forth with great labor.Such hard work it is to be a 14-year-old English student!

Teaching Journal 08-09
Day 25, Tuesday, October 14

My Area of Focus

Most teachers settle on several "areas of focus" each year -- some aspects of teaching they want to work on and improve -- and I've decided, this year, to focus my attention on simply being more grateful. That may sound strange, since we usually imagine teachers focusing on things like improving class discipline, starting classes in a more interesting fashion, or upgrading their curriculum. We picture teachers deciding to work on specific problems in their classroom, not on interior attributes like gratitude. We think of them deciding to enhance specific teaching skills, not personal virtues. However, this year I realize, actually, that a greater sense of gratitude might help my teaching more than anything else. After all, I can't expect to assist my students in developing new skills if I don't recognize, and feel grateful for, the skills they already have. They come to my class fully loaded with astonishing talents, and my first task is to notice and appreciate those talents. I also want to work on being more appreciative of the lessons the scholars teach me every day. They have only one English teacher, but I am fortunate enough to have 41 teachers, and each one is full of youthful wisdom and burgeoning expertise. Over the years, I have learned at least as much from my students as they have from me, and I have to remain grateful for that. I'm convinced that only by starting with gratitude can I become the kind of teacher I have always wanted to be.

Fortunately, I was able to begin this school day with gratitude, because this morning at our all-school assembly we sang the French national anthem, in honor of the French students who are visiting us for the next few days. As we stood together and sang -- tots and teenagers, parents and friends, young teachers and one old "professor" -- it brought an overwhelming feeling of appreciation. I treasured those brief moments as we paid tribute to the French visitors -- treasured the feeling of belonging to a community born and brought up in camaraderie and caring. I walked out of the auditorium filled with the understanding that life at Pine Point is as good as life ever gets.

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When I gave back graded essays in one class, I noticed that one student studied my comments for an especially long time. As I prepared to begin the lesson, he stayed hunched over his paper, reading my notes with great care. I paused (practicing my patience), and then paused some more to let him completely finish. There was silence in the room as I waited, but it was a healthful silence. I quietly congratulated myself for allowing this boy to slowly and scrupulously do what needed to be done to be an excellent scholar.

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One of my goals for the year is to talk less and listen more, and, so far, I feel good about the progress I've made. I noticed it today -- how I'm resisting the impulse to make casual, impromptu comments during class. For years I've done this -- just tossed off thoughts as they came to me, thoughts that were always somewhat related to the topic at hand, but that were usually more distracting than helpful -- but I'm starting to see a change. The number of words I'm using in class this year might be down by 20% -- a major victory for me ... and, I'm sure, for my word-weary but patient students.

,

Teaching Journal 08-09

Columbus Day Weekend

On Not Judging a River

I have been a very judgmental person – but I’m trying hard to change. For most of my life, I spent a good part of my waking hours passing judgments on situations, events, and people. A situation was either good or bad, helpful or detrimental; an event either worked to my advantage or didn’t; and a person was either right or wrong, nice or not so nice, young or old, smart or not so smart. It’s surprising I haven’t thoroughly exhausted myself with all this passionate handing down of verdicts and pronouncements. Truth is, some time ago I decided to stop being a judge – perhaps take early retirement from “the bench”, you might say. I was, indeed, tired from having to constantly judge everything that came my way, and I decided I wanted to enjoy instead of judge. To use a figure of speech, I wanted to sit by the river of life and take pleasure in its passing, without having to give my considered opinion about how well or poorly it was flowing. It’s an interesting metaphor, and it brings me around to my role as an English teacher. Now, I realize that I have an obligation to judge my students’ performances in class, and I accept that responsibility in all seriousness. However, I do it with the full understanding that my judgments are fairly superficial and, in the big picture, fairly unimportant. Judging whether my students can write a 5-paragraph essay is an essential part of my job, but it says almost nothing about the vast mystery that is the children’s lives. Their lives flow past me in the classroom like mighty rivers, and what I enjoy most about teaching, when I can find the time, is simply observing and appreciating that flow. A river changes constantly and amazingly, and so do the 8^th and 9^th graders in my classes. Every chance I get, I put down my judge’s gavel and simply enjoy the show the English scholars put on. I’m hoping to do the same, more and more, with all of my life.

Teaching Journal 08-09
Day 24, Friday, October 10

The other day, in a discussion about a story we were reading, one of the 8th grade students remarked that a character needed to learn to "cherish" his life, and I was especially struck by the word "cherish". First of all, it was an unusual word to hear from a 13-year-old, but it was also a word that immediately started me thinking about myself, and my work as a middle school English teacher. I started wondering, in particular, if I truly cherish the words the scholars say in my class. Each day, thousands (perhaps tens of thousands) of words are spoken by the students, and how many of those words, I wondered, do I really cherish, admire, hold dear? Do I take each of them, one by one, into my mind and heart in an attentive manner? More importantly, do I let the scholars know that I cherish their words? Do I make it clear to each student, even in some small way, that I appreciated the words he or she spoke during class?

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We started on the collaboration projects in 9th grade English today, and it's caused me to reflect, again, on the value of this kind of teaching and learning . Having kids work in fairly independent, self-governing groups is, to put it mildly, a humbling experience for me. It brings me "back to earth". It reminds me that I'm not nearly as important as I sometimes pretend I am, and that I shouldn't take myself all that seriously. The students' lives will continue to be thoroughly productive whether Mr. Salsich is their English teacher or not. Working on their own today and producing excellent results, the students put things in perspective for me. As their teacher, I can be helpful, yes, but in no way am I necessary or indispensable. I'm merely one ripple in the vast current of learning that will continue to unavoidably sweep them along.

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The student who is this week's "teacher's assistant" worked the computer projector for me during a review of capitalization, and I think she was quite proud of the way she handled the responsibility. She called on students in an authoritative manner, and generally exuded an air of confidence and conviction. She's normally a quiet and somewhat self-effacing girl, so this was, I think, a heartening experience for her.

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The 9th graders are excited about their collaboration project, which makes me excited also. It was gratifying to see their heads bent together in close consultation as they searched for consensus on how to proceed with this intricate project. They were focused and earnest as they shared their ideas -- probably considerably more alert than they are when I'm conducting a lesson. (Again -- humility time for the teacher.)

Teaching Journal 08-09

Day 23, Thursday, October 9

This morning I noticed that two 9th grade girls came early for class, and, while they were waiting, set up all the chairs around the tables. It was just a small act, but a kindhearted one, I thought. They didn't have to do it. They could have spent time with each other or with their own thoughts, just passing the time in a private way until class started. Instead, they spent a few minutes unloading chairs from the stacks and placing them where they belonged. They generously came to the aid of someone else (me) -- quite a dignified way to start English class.

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In several classes today, it seemed to me that the scholars took a particular pleasure in their 7 minutes of silent reading at the beginning of class. (We do that in every class.) They became quiet fairly quickly and before a small amount of time had passed, the room was utterly silent except for the turning of pages and the sipping of ice water. Perhaps the students have grown to cherish this brief time of stillness and peace. For a few minutes, they are lost in stories and free from cares.

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TEACHING JOURNAL 08-09

DAY 22, Wednesday, October 8

In one class this morning, a girl spilled a cup of water in the middle of my lesson. Normally, we might think of this as a mistake, a problem, an interruption, or even a mini-disaster. In some situations, it could cause confusion and the loss of focus. It could even throw a lesson entirely off course and perhaps put a blight on the entire class period. However, over the years I've tried to think in a different way about such incidents. I've tried to see them, I guess, as opportunities rather than problems. This morning, when the water spilled across the table and spread to papers and books, I was happy to see several students quickly, quietly, and efficiently pitch in to help clean up the spill. I continued talking, occasionally reminding the students that they needed to stay focused. Within a few minutes the table was dry again and the clean-up crew was again sitting at their places, following the course of the lesson. It was a good class session, I thought, and it was made especially good by the way the students had responded to the spill. You might say they took advantage of the opportunity. They used the spill as a way of testing their ability to be helpful and stay focused in an emergency, and they passed the test with honors. I was impressed, and I told them so.

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The 8th grade classes conducted rather sophisticated discussions on their reading of Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle". One of the students was the "teacher's assistant", and he or she called on students, commented on their comments, and generally kept the conversation going. We decided not to raise hands, but simply to speak up and share ideas -- remembering to pause before speaking to make sure the previous speaker was completely finished. It worked quite successfully, considering this is only the 5th week of school. There was a sense of propriety and courtesy in the classroom as the discussion progressed. To quote Jane Austen from Mansfield Park : "All proceeded in a regular course of cheerful orderliness; everybody had their due importance; everybody's feelings were consulted."

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Teaching Journal 08-09

Day 21, Tuesday, October 4

Browsing in English Class

I was watching a student browsing among the shelves of the library this morning, and it brought to mind the possible value of "browsing" in English class. The student in the library was relaxing as he browsed -- just dawdling among the books like you might dawdle in a field of flowers. He was not focused in the way that I like my scholars to be focused; in fact, you might say he was entirely unfocused -- simply surfing among the shelves, wide-open to any books that might catch his attention. Now, ordinarily I insist that my students be totally alert during my classes, but is there room -- and a time -- for casual, non-specific, distracted browsing? Should I, for example, allow the scholars to occasionally "browse" in a chapter of a book instead of always making them studying it with focus and intensity? Should they be encouraged to "browse" among the sentences of their essays, simply enjoying the look and feel of the words?

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Yesterday and today, because of special field trips, I had the entire 9th grade (22 kids) in my small classroom for English class, and I was gratified by their refined behavior. They came into the classroom quietly, promptly found a place to sit (or stand), and became silent as soon as they saw I was ready to begin. How fortunate I am to be able to work with such gracious young people. The world around us may abound in disrespect and meanness, but in Room 2, life is a thoroughly dignified enterprise.

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I noticed that one girl was still deep in her book a full minute after I had signaled the end of quiet reading time. As I was preparing to start with the day's lesson, I quietly took pleasure in seeing her so deeply submerged in the book. True, she had not paid attention to my signal, but she had done something more important. She had stayed lost among wonderful words, an adventure that will surely benefit her more than instantly following her teacher's directions.

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The "servers" in each class are obviously proud of the role they play. While the rest of us go about the business of being English students, the servers quietly and politely pass a tray of ice water and crackers (all the while listening to what I'm saying -- I hope). It just takes a few minutes, but it's a dignified few minutes for the servers. It sets them apart, I think. Perhaps it makes them feel like a particularly vital part of the class, which they are. In English class, reading and writing are important, but so is service to others.

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In one class, I asked the kids to "freeze" in the middle of a discussion. It was at a moment when most of them were looking at the speaker with great interest, and I told them I wished I had a camera to take a picture of their attentiveness.

Teaching Journal 08-09

Day 20, Monday, October 06

R is for Responsibility

In my teaching today, I want to work on doing more responding than reacting. I want to be a responsible teacher, one who (to use the literal meaning of the word) is “able to respond” to his scholars. So often in class, I react rather than respond, as if the words and actions of my students are solid objects that “hit” me and cause a reaction of one sort or another. During the course of a school day, my scholars’ actions and words come from all directions in a continuous flow, but I sometimes see them, I think, more as a congenial kind of barrage – a friendly but steady battering which requires a multitude of reactions from me. Today I would like to see the events in my classes differently -- more as a flowing river than a drumming volley – and I would like to respond rather than react. There’s a softness in the idea of responding (I hear it even in the sound of the word), and I want to bring that softness to class today. It’s the softness that welcomes instead of resists, and marvels at instead of judges. It’s the softness that knows that life is more like a vast and generous ocean than a steep, rock-hard hill. I like the fact that the word “respond” comes from the Latin for “make a promise again”, because it reminds me that teaching is a lot about promising. When a student says or does something (or when I say or do something), I promise to accept it, take it in, appreciate it, and respond to it. I promise to be a responsible teacher – to be soft in a strong way rather than hard in a weak way. In this world that must often seem inflexible and unfeeling to the young scholars, it’s the kind of teacher they might want – and need.

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During one class this morning, I watched carefully to see which students were really focused, and -- as I expected -- many were. Lately, I'm realizing more and more how very difficult it is for young people (or anyone, for that matter) to stay attentive to the matter at hand, and so I'm somewhat amazed that many of the scholars were so alert this morning . Several pairs of eyes seemed to be always directly on me when I was talking, and I complimented them for that. It's something we're all working on, the students and I together -- slowly strengthening our ability to be attentive to exactly what's happening in front of us. (I am often very inattentive at faculty meetings, so I have much work to do myself.)

The Paradise of the Present

The Paradise of the Present Moment
(written in December, 2005)

I woke up this morning with a wonderful thought: Today I will be living in a paradise – the paradise of the present moment. As I continued to think about it, I became more and more amazed to realize that today I will live always in the present moment – will be, in effect, a prisoner of the present. For the entire day, I will not be able to escape from the moment that is happening right now. The great and spectacular present will always be bursting up and shining all around me. And of course, why would I want to escape from the present? After all, since it’s the only moment that could possibly be occurring right now, that means it’s the perfect moment for right now – and perfection is something we find only in paradise. So, if I am going to be living in paradise all day today, why would I want to escape from it?? I guess I should congratulate myself this morning, or pat myself on the back, or throw a quiet party for myself. Why? Because I am one of the really lucky people on earth. Today, this frigid December 6th, I will be living in a paradise as beautiful as any place on earth. I’ll just be in my modest classroom, Room 2 at Pine Point School, but I’ll be relaxing in the present moment like I’m on a spectacular beach.

MP3 File

Teaching Journal 08-09
Day 19, October 3

“[They] walked living among the forms of thought
To see their lustre truly as it is.”
--Wallace Stevens, in “The Owl in the Sarcophagus”

I came across these lines the other day, and they started me thinking about the actual content of my English courses. As I studied the lines, I realized more and more that the content of my course is not books or grammar rules or essay guidelines, but rather, as Stevens says, “the forms of thought”. My students and I deal with thoughts, not things. In a way, Room 2 is more a mental world than a physical one, where the light, or “lustre”, is provided more by our thoughts than the flourescent bulbs above us. What I hope we can do is see this “lustre truly as it is” – really examine our thoughts, both in essays and discussions, in order to appreciate the ceaseless glow they send off.
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When I started talking at the start of one class, I happened to notice that one girl immediately opened her class notes folder and began writing. It pleases me that some – perhaps many – of the scholars are settling into that routine. A successful academic life has much to do with mastering routines – trustingly and watchfully following the paths prescribed by teachers. More often than not, those paths will lead to knowledge worth working for.
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I was happy to see that one extremely reserved girl volunteered to help with the puppet show at the end of class today. She raised her hand with a smile, and the smile fully bloomed when I called out her name for the cast. She was a quiet participant, but at one point she said these lines with a soft kind of stateliness: “Oh my.”

Teaching Journal 08-09
Thursday, October 2
Day 18

ON BEING AN ORDINARY TEACHER

Some time ago, I came across this quote, and ever since, it has been a guiding inspiration for me:

“In the end, it is not the extraordinariness of the teacher which perplexes, intrigues, and beckons the student. On the contrary, it is the teacher’s utter ordinariness. Because he is just himself, he is a mirror for his students. When we are with him, we feel our own strengths and shortcomings without any sense of praise or criticism from him. In his presence, we see our original face. And the extraordinariness we see is only our own true nature.”
-- from What Dies? by Stephen Levine

I want to be a thoroughly ordinary teacher, because only then can my students shine with their own extraordinariness. Rather than be the center of attention, I want to stay on the outer edge of notice so the scholars can be front and center. Instead of an intense and showy light, I want to simply be a clean mirror in which the kids can see themselves clearly, with all their weaknesses and strengths. Today I hope my utter ordinariness will reveal to the students some of the breathtaking rareness of their own lives.
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I noticed that a few of the students almost always begin reading as soon they come into class. While others are talking quietly or getting themselves organized in one way or another, these dutiful students promptly get started on the first task of every English class – silent reading. I’m sure I often overlook their consistent sense of responsibility and propriety, so I’m glad I happened to notice it today.
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One boy had a particularly noteworthy class today. He has not experienced a great amount of success and praise in his years in school, but today he was an exemplary student. His homework had been done with care and thoroughness, and he participated in the discussion in a mature and intelligent manner. I was very happy for him. I congratulated him at the end of class, and he looked a bit bewildered by the praise, perhaps because it was something thoroughly novel to him.
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In keeping with my morning paragraph (above) about being an “ordinary” teacher, I tried to stay on the periphery during the 9th grade discussions about Fitzgerald’s “Winter Dreams”. Indeed, the students’ comments about the story were shrewd and discerning, making any contributions from me entirely superfluous. All they needed from me was my presence, which was just the way I wanted it. By being there with them, I was perhaps able to establish an atmosphere of dignity and attentiveness, but the students did most of the talking. I was in the background, which is precisely what enabled the young scholars to share the foreground together.