Cindy chronicled our experience last week with a young man who shared his artistic genius with us on the book club discussion record. Never one to disappoint, this young man created a repeat performance this afternoon. (Lucky me, he's been doing this all year. ) Today's rendering came complete with antenna coming from each character's head. As strange as it sounds, from that detail alone it does appear that he is reading the book. When he arrived in class today I overheard him say to a classmate, "I think I got stupid from reading that book."
If he is reading, what am I complaining about then?
As I sat dutifully writing field notes, the teacher on my right shoulder was shouting at the researcher on my left shoulder to get out of my seat and yank the young man in the hall and insist that he stop goofing around just as I would have had I been moderating discussion or asking students to work in small groups.
So why did the researcher win this battle? I'm not sure. Maybe because Cindy was in the room and I didn' t want to taint the data. Or maybe because I hoped that in between the obvious goofing off he really was participating in a meaningful discussion of the novel. Or maybe because I'm still not sure how to unite the teacher from one shoulder with the researcher from the other shoulder into one seamless angelic creature.
Any thoughts?
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4 comments:
So how do you balance the "disruptive" kid with the "engaged" one? They are often the same thing. I struggle with this one. I learn to play off the kid that would love to make a joke out of everything. Often I learn how to use them and their actions against them, often getting it to help my class along, sometimes not. I wonder about what the best decision is.
It sounds like he is participating and his actions say that. Is he "screaming" at you that he is involved? Or do you think he really is trying to cause problems? I guess this is the issue... intentions. What are his?
As for Cindy being in the room... be yourself no matter what. Easier said than done, I know.
But read his intentions... are you able to harness the energy for the best of the class or group or will it backfire. It often wont. but how do you play it?
My comment just turned into a blog entry because it was going on far too long.
I will say here, though, that I totally agree with Jason about being yourself. Just trust your instincts, and do what you'd normally do if I wasn't in the room. Look at it this way: regardless of the outcome, we'll have something to observe, reflect on, and talk about, right? And it's guaranteed to be interesting....
I have to wonder about your two fighting teachers on your shoulders. I think one of mine might be asleep half the time...but I digress. I wonder, though, if the rude comment the kid made wasn't truthful. I hate cliches, but the first amendment protects the things we hate as well as the things we love. This is a cheesy way of trying to explain that even though it was a totally rude and obvious middle-school thing to say, it may have been the only way he could say what he felt about the book. Does that make sense? And if it is a rough way of expressing distaste with something, maybe that is research, too...? I mean, I don't know research and I'm still trying to learn this proces, but I would consider even that rude comment research-worthy. If a kid just said, "Oh, I didn't really care for this book, though I read the whole thing cover-to-cover" wouldn't you record that? I work with at-risk and outwardly-looking rude kids, but the work with what they have. Maybe that's all that kid had to say he read it, he didn't like it, and he still has to look cool all at the same time? (soapbox-y....sorry) Maybe ask this modern-day Shakespeare (ha!) for evidence or facts about his oddly-worded critique??? I'd agree with the folks before me, too, that his intentions are key for your next move and you know him best....where do you think the comment was coming from?
Cindy's post on this issue addresses your actual question much better than I ever could, I'm still not even sure I understand what t-r is, so you're way ahead of me. But, I did want to mention one thing that I found interesting in this string.
I agree with Steph. I think that the kids who don't like the book can be way more constructive than those who are just going through the motions, trying not to say anything I'll object to. Deconstruct the text, even if you love it.
Even if his intention is just to be disruptive, my response would be to jump in to that group and ask, "how did it make you more stupid?" What an awesome opportunity for a discussion. I've read books that made me way more stupider, definitely, and yes, many of them were assigned to me.
But hey, that's why I became a lit major and studied Post-Modernism. Every one of my English teachers, save one, would have been amazed to learn that I went on to earn an MA in lit.--I was a horrible student all through k-12 and I said I hated everything "they" made me read, even when I liked it secretly.
The only way to reach students like me is to respect our dissent, make it part of the class, and turn it into something constructive. Some things cross the line, but that comment is fair.
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