Derek Key, January 18, 2009 “Sparklers”
I loved the idea of passing the spark. Sometimes if you can get just one student interested in what you’re doing; it starts a chain reaction and the rest are clamoring to know what is going on. The comparison of the magnanimous explosion to the subtle transfer of sparks inspires me to think of new ways to spark my students.
At a beginning teacher conference I attended, one of the presenters brought up a point that I will never forget. He said, “The only person you can control in that classroom is yourself.” Considering yourself “the framework for everything around you” is hard to grasp, yet I have some inkling of what it means. It’s not that you are in control of what is going on, but more how you react to what’s going on. It’s not thinking that the world is out to get you, but rather that the world is the world, and there are so many different actions going on all the time. It’s not dishing out blame when things don’t go the way you planned.
I think it was brilliant how the little girl with leukemia’s teacher, chose to shave her head to create a different reality in her class. I’m not sure I have the guts to shave my head. I thought it was fabulous how Zander took a bad situation, the students up on the roof disturbing guests and made it into a positive situation. Rather than deflate the students and put them in an awful mood for the upcoming concerts, he allowed the students to introspectively look at their actions and reflect on what exactly they were trying to accomplish in Brazil. He didn’t fly off the handle like many chaperones would have and jump headfirst into a downward spiral. “How can you know where you are unless you have a point of reference?” This concept really makes me think about some of my students that have had to move around a lot and never really had a “home”.
Richie Preiss, "We see what we want", July 26, 2010
The concept of WE is sometimes hard to get across to my students. For instance, one day my 4th period class was in the computer lab, which is a part of the media center, only separated by a false wall. My students were being exceptionally loud, and the librarian and I had spoken to them about it several times. There was another class in the library using laptops, and my students expressed blatantly that they had no concern for the other class being there, or the appropriate volume to use in the library, and said, “You know we’re loud, why did you bring us in here?” The passage about terrorists really struck a chord as well, because of some of the racist remarks made by my students towards Middle Easterners.
My Response
Heather, I appreciate your response to the "spark" practice. Getting students inspired is certainly an art, as its rewards are quite obvious. This principle shows why teachers are often the targets when invading armies try to control the people, such as the Nazi occupation. That spark can also be used in the wrong way, as in the spread of government propaganda. That spark, therefore, certainly exists. You are right in that there are very few things the teacher can actually control. Sometimes getting even one student to buy in to what you are doing makes all the difference. I remember watching that old teaching movie, The Blackboard Jungle. When face with opposition, the teacher targeted the leader of the pack. Once that student became engaged, then the others followed. I believe part of creating that spark is making the material relevant to the students. That is where the textbooks seem to just fail. For example, when I give the students the same writing prompt to an ethical issue, I get mediocre responses. But when i let the students choose an article from Newsy.com and respond to the article of their choice, their responses were far better. Sometimes that spark appears in surprising places, such as the Antony the Conductor did from the book. For example, there was a girl in class who didn't talk very much, but when she was allowed to comment on some sports articles, she wrote volumes of commentary. Who would have known that sports were her "spark"? Sorry to hear about your library incident. Some referrals were certainly in order there.
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