Another kind of teacher work: the extended missive to an entire class:
Dear 215,
We made it! One week, sixteen exhibitions, sixteen amazing presentations, and a good pile of portfolios completed. No matter how varied the quality of presentations, every evaluator and visitor commented on the quality of feedback you offered each other and on the community you have made with each other. We will talk on Monday and Tuesday about results and about the amazing opportunities you’ll have next year, whether you’re doing college, internships, or preparing to build your own projects. This letter offers my general reflections on what I heard this week, which along with $1.88 will get you a small coffee.
First of all, every presentation I heard reminded me of the potential that all of you possess. Every student provided at least one amazing statement about how humans live and work. All of you had something insightful to say about yourself and your own work habits. What I felt, more than anything, was possibility. For some of you, it was the feeling you get when you watch a great movie preview — Oh, I have to go see that — while for others it was the feeling of listening to a rough first album when you start thinking about what could happen if people worked harder, focused more, and committed to their work.
It’s somewhat of a cliche, I know, for a teacher to talk about potential. Ironic, too, because most schools talk about potential and then do as little as possible to help kids realize it. In little and big ways, all of you seized this opportunity to present your work, and, as a whole, the results were stunning.
A second thing I observed was the number of you who talked about workspaces and finding ways to get work done. KM noted that she wanted a “viable workspace.” Others of you talked withdrawing via headphones or going into the closet. This is a long-running problem: how do we find space where everyone can work together? As a community, what do we owe each other? TC described a “chill button.” DS proposed a concentration room, a kind of quiet car, where students could count on everyone present being focused. Everyone has a slightly different idea of what the perfect work space looks like; that being said, there are some things everybody struggles with: non-work noise, dirt/filth, tools out of place, broken tools. As part of a school community, we can’t run our spaces as if each person can do whatever they want. On the other hand, I hope people can think about how they will work to make their advisory next year as good and productive a work space as possible.
In making a work space, the community has to function together. One thing I truly appreciated was how closely you read each other’s work in the fourth section of part one. (Were there really twelve sections? Are we crazy? Are you so proud of yourself for completing all of it? I hope so). One thing I’ve struggled with this year with my current 11th graders is helping them to understand how they support each other and how the community of learners makes everyone better. I’m a good writer whose work is much better with when I get help. I’m a good teacher who stands on Ms. Rowe’s, Mr. Hauger’s, Ms. Erin’s, Ms. Matthews’s shoulders — they make me much better and sometimes I help them too. What can we do next year to help each other with this process? How do we take the strong bonds created in 215, the strong helpful bonds, and bring them into the next year? In Rocky’s words, how do we fill each other’s gaps?
Part of making each other better will also be about project design. All of you will be involved in designing your own projects next year. Some projects will under a topical umbrella — public health or local politics or the problems facing Philadelphia — while others will be of your own design. There are great possibilities here for all of you. VG said it as well as anyone I’ve ever heard: “I want my deadlines to shape my designs.” He also made the following statements together — “I overestimated what I knew and underestimated how much time it would take.” These are all worth thinking about for next year.
Another part of this will be about figuring out what these skills are. Many of you told the story of how a group didn’t work and how you need to work on collaboration. Our hope for all of you is that much of the drama, unnecessary drama, and petty stuff can collapse all of that into an hour instead of letting it take hours, days, or weeks to resolve.
During the me-by-the-numbers section many of you read portions of your worksis; others of you talked about honor roll or improving your grades. What’s the difference between improving your grades and creating powerful projects? There’s a sense where grades will matter but why do you think I’d ask you to think more about whether your project worked or not? Outside of school, no one EVER does anything for a grade. We do things and measure them against external standards of excellence. If I’m a business person, do people want to buy my goods or use my services? If I’m a writer, has a publisher decided to publish my piece? We want you to think about what makes something excellent not about what grade it might earn. (I’d note, too, that if you do excellent work then the grades will take care of themselves.)
In terms of Gateway itself, I was impressed by every presentation I saw. With some of you, even though you hadn’t done much on your portfolio, you were still were able to stand and talk through your work as well as your work process. As sad as I was for those of you who did not complete a portfolio (and therefore failed Gateway), I and the reviewers respected the effort to analyze your work out-loud. For those of you in this boat, I’d ask you to think about what drew you to present while not completing the most important document of your two years of high school. What can you build on next year? How can you find your way back to this process so that you can take advantage of the very real opportunities available to you? (If you’ve read this far, see me at 11:43 tomorrow and I’ll get you a cheesesteak)
Thank you so much for spending half a year together. I learned a lot from all of you and look forward to next year.
Clapper
