As a new school year seems to be breathing down my neck, I
cannot help but reflect on the last 12 months.
To me the real New Years is actually August, as so many families embark on
new beginnings. I try to make it a time
to re-group and re-imagine what my classroom and my teaching could be. Since last August I feel as though much has
changed for me and the country.
Let me start by saying that I heard Bob Bain speak at the
Advanced Placement World History Reading in Salt Lake City, and he was excellent. He spoke about an idea about which I was
unfamiliar. History teachers come in two
varieties – truffle hunters and parachutists.
The idea comes from Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie. The truffle hunters are buried in the details
while the parachutists are taking a big picture approach to see patterns and
trends. We need both in our disciplines –
historians and teachers. But I am beyond
any doubt a parachutist. In fact, as a
student the truffle hunters drove me crazy.
I deeply believe that history needs to teach us about the world we live
in and will live in, therefore we need an understanding of patterns, trends and
themes. It’s that approach that made much
of this past year a challenge.
The 2014-2015 school year began with Ferguson dominating the
news. In a world history class in an
elite private school in Silicon Valley how was I to discuss these issues. Did discussion of these issues have a place
in such an environment? Could we effectively
discuss Ferguson in such a way that we discussed race, authority and privilege in
American history and today? Were high school freshmen and sophomores able to do
that? Would AP students stand for it
with a test breathing down their necks?
In the fall I decided to avoid it all together. I am not happy about that, nor did I feel
like this teachable moment was the appropriate one for my context. Little did I know how the next 12 months
would unfold across this country. Acquittals,
beatings, murders, mass shootings inside churches and theaters, arguments over
symbols and rights and challenges to how or if we can self-identify.
This summer we have seen the 2016 Presidential Race
begin. A crowd of Republicans, a few
Democrats and a media circus is upon us.
Much of it has developed since school was out in early June. The parachutist in me thinks the real story
here is not the candidates at all but the way cable news, a 24-hour news cycle,
for-profit news media and social media have re-shaped politics, public discourse
and thought in the US and the world. Is it
possible to deeply cover issues anymore?
Is it even desirable? Have we
really become so polarized that it seems like everyone is either an Ayn
Rand-inspired individualist with little regard for their fellow human or a
Socialist with no regard for the realities of a global economy? Is it possible for us to have public dialogue
based upon rational thought and factual information and not emotional
fear-pedaling?
This past year also saw increased coverage of teen stress
and depression, helicopter parenting, college admissions insanity, college debt
and an economy that doesn’t seem to be doing any favors for our youth. How do we prepare all our students for an
uncertain future? They will inevitably
have multiple careers and will see their world change in ways we cannot
imagine. Flexible thinking, creativity,
openness to diversity of all kinds, an ability to learn – all of this will be
vital to their success and happiness.
How can schools best develop this?
Does an emphasis on grades and test scores really do it? Does admission to an elite university really
do it? Does school as we have known it
for the last couple centuries really do it?
Meanwhile, there’s a silver lining in all the events of this
past year. As a nation we are
talking. We are discussing historical
symbols. We are delving deeper into the
history to uncover and discuss deeper truths – being better truffle
hunters. We are seeing more and more
Americans acquiring the rights most Americans have always had. We are re-evaluating ideas we have taken for
granted and reconsidering the paths forward.
We have an opportunity to bring this country closer and closer to
fulfilling the promises in our founding documents and founding fathers. Do you have the courage to keep it up?
So I have some pledges for the school year ahead. I am pledging to use those teachable moments
that arise in world events. I am
pledging to teach my students how to dig into facts and research and question
what authorities and the media might tell them.
I am pledging to be sure my classroom is a space where each student
feels valid and safe being whoever they are and want to be. I am pledging to make my classroom a place
where we can all grapple with the challenges of the future so that my students
may solve the problems that will face us.
