More Coffee, Please

Last Tuesday was the inauguration. Whatever anyone’s personal feelings about the result of the election, there was little doubt that Mr. Obama was most definitely the choice of MRHS students. In the mock election at the start of the year, the former senator from Illinois defeated his Republican rival by a wide margin—which, if nothing else, tells us that our kids are fairly representative of their nation.

On Tuesday, they managed to watch their candidate be sworn in. The last time a new president took office, they were in elementary school, and I wonder how much they understood was going on. This time, they watched history being made, and it was a very different thing. The Monadnock of eight years ago had no televisions with cable to watch world events¹, and the internet had nothing like live streaming video. ²

This year was very different than 2000, or 2001. The televisions—which were reviled by so many (despite their presence via grant money for technology) were all on, and the cafeteria was quiet.³There might have been a little disappointment about the speech (one kid whispered “that’s it?”) but there was the sense there was something amazing happening, and it was nice that we had the chance to share it with them, to let them see it, rather than continuing as “business as usual.”

Learning takes place all the time—not just the 48 minutes we get them. The ability to grab the teachable moment—to take something they’re interested in and make it real—is always a challenge, with the pressure of “the curriculum” and “what needs to be covered.”

But I think we’re up to it; most every teacher I know loves teaching kids more than teaching material.

Speaking of leadership…

It wasn’t clear in the papers, but the NECAP tests that every junior takes had some good news for MRHS. The district might not have changed much, but the high school sure did.

Let me preface that standardized tests are a lousy way of telling anything about a school. They don’t really measure what a student knows (or doesn’t know) all they really tell is how well they take tests. This is one of the reasons that teachers are always searching for more ways to measure student performance.

Still, this year, MRHS leaped from sixth out of six area schools to second out of eight. Second—leaping ahead of schools which were substantially “better” than they were on paper. And why?

Relationship. Really, when you get down to it, Brian Pickering. “Huskies on the Rise” or whatever other name you want to use, there’s a new spirit in the building, a focus on the students as people and it’s having an effect. There’s no doubt why it should—relationship always matters in teaching. And in this case, Mr. Pickering gave the students the respect as people which had been missing.

Case in point⁴: There was a debate over a semantic question in the building, and a number of adults brought concerns to Mr. Pickering. Initially, he agreed with the adults and the interpretation of what was going on.

And then the kids came to him, and presented their case. From what I heard, he apologized for not listening to them as well, and went down to the classroom and apologized to every student involved directly. One student was in tears because an adult listened to what they had to say, and took into account how they felt.

Respect given, respect earned.

Need to see it in action? Four hundred young men and women in the auditorium on a Friday afternoon, listening to their principal applaud them for their hard work on a state test. It’s Friday, it’s been a long week—and the bell rings to go home.

And not one kid moved. Not one kid got up to go to the bus. They sat, and they listened, and they waited to be dismissed.

It starts by respecting them first, and then they give it back. Quod erat demonstrandum.

1I remember running around the building trying to find a radio on September 11. There was nothing, and no news until the bell rang and the ride home in the car. It was like traveling into the dark ages ↺

2 That this was possible deserves a special prop for Mr. Richardson, who managed to get an outdated network to do far more than it was ever designed to do. Kudos. ↺

3 Well, as quiet as a high school cafeteria ever will be. ↺

4 This is not my story to tell, so I’m going leave out a good many details. They’re not really needed, and I’m not comfortable sharing everything third-hand. ↺

Gregarious

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