to see land, and then hand paddle to it. I pull the raft up onto the beach and discover a deserted island.
After some by-play, I make helicopter sounds, wave it down, and then simulate the wind of its landing. I become the copter pilot stepping out and tell the survivors that I have never seen this island on any map, I was blown off course and am unsure that I will be able to locate it again. My copter can only accommodate five passengers, so five will come back to safety and five will have to survive on the island. It is up to the class to decide who will be saved and who will be left behind. They are to form collaborative groups of three or four students each and come to a consensus.
I provide them with a list of the ten characters who have survived the crash. Each of these characters is designed to cause a debate as to whether they should stay or go. For example, one is a botanist who is also the single mom of two young children. Some will want to keep her on the island for her knowledge of plants and others will want to return her to her children. Another example is a convicted murderer who is on parole. Some students won’t want to give him one of the five seats home. Other students may not want to leave four people on the island with him. The whole idea is to create characters that will spark a debate and differences in opinion.
This exercise accomplishes two main goals. First, they are once again socked in the stomach with an outrageous and outside-the-box intro to the period that is not only bizarre, but highly entertaining. Secondly, I get the chance to discuss group dynamics, the collaborative process, and the procedures we use to get into groups, all in the context of a fun, engaging activity that does not have any particular right or wrong answers. The answer to who is rescued and who stays on the island doesn’t matter; it is the process that is important. I emphasize that they must not only come to a consensus, but they must be able to justify their answers.
As the groups collaborate, I circulate through the room and monitor the process. I reinforce proper dynamics, the no-meanness rule, and encourage full participation. Once finished, each group reports their answers and responds to any questions I might have about their choices. It is always interesting to see how different the answers can be and how the justifications vary from group to group and from period to period. I track the responses on a chart on the board.
After two days, every student has introduced themselves to the whole class and has participated in a collaborative group. In addition, they have yet to see anything resembling an ordinary class experience. They leave wondering what in the world is going to happen next. I’ll tell you what is going to happen next, just the single most important day of the school year…Day Three!
DAY THREE
If I were to rank all of my one hundred eighty class days in order of importance, I would probably rank day three as the single most critical of the year. This is the day I explain the method to my madness and break down all possibilities of students falling into a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure. I teach many students who have struggled in school and failed many times before they arrive at my door. I know many of them are asking an unspoken question that is absolutely critical for me to be able to answer. I visualize them sitting in front of me and asking this silent question: “Why will I be successful in your class if I’ve never been successful before?” Until, and unless, I can answer that question, I don’t believe I can effectively start my year.
Day three consists of a massive, high-energy, frenetic sales pitch designed to convince my students that my class is completely different from anything they have ever experienced in school. Most importantly, I work to sell them on the fact that they can, and absolutely will, be successful. Far too many of our students have been beaten up by school. They have been told they don’t measure up. They have been made to believe their unique gifts and talents are not valued by the educational system because they are not reflected in test scores. They don’t believe that school respects and honors their individuality but instead uses it against them as a tool to force conformity.
Every student in your class in those first few days of the semester is evaluating whether or not your room is an emotionally and psychologically safe environment. They’re wondering if it is worth their time and effort to give school a real shot. After all, it’s easier to not give your best and then blame failure on a lack of effort, than to be forced to realize you really don’t have what it takes. At least you can save face with your peers when you fail if you don’t try in the first place.
None of this is ever verbally expressed. However, if you teach the same clientele I do, you know this is what some of them are thinking. It is our job as teachers to address the unspoken thoughts rattling around in the minds of our students. The earlier we do it, the better.
My goal is to completely smash any idea my students might have about my class being more of the same for them. I will pull out all the stops to convince them it doesn’t matter if they have failed before because my class is absolutely and completely different. My class has been specially designed for them to be successful. It is based on the latest brain research and incorporates incredible mnemonics designed to help them easily learn and retain more content in less time. I explain to them how the brain works and how a positive learning environment is critical for higher-order thinking to take place.
I talk to them about learning styles. I spend a great deal of time discussing Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. I give them compelling examples of how school systems have consistently neglected and undervalued many of these types of intelligences because they are not on “the test.” I show how special gifts and talents, like artistic and musical creativity, should be equally valued in school. I talk to the athletes and dancers about kinesthetic intelligence. I give examples of how people with interpersonal intelligence might find themselves in trouble in school but have incredible opportunities for success in the “real world.”
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