If I Teach English

The Sum of All Fears

You assign it, you read it

Reading literature requires writing about it on the part of students. That is fitting and just. Striking the right balance between helping students write intelligently and keeping a manageable workload is essential. I've bumped into teachers (or their stacks of essays, see above) who assign enormous writing projects. I think to myself, "Will this teacher ever find the time to attentively read all of that?"

Understanding literature requires conversation about its meaning. Both for assessment but more importantly for the good of the students. This is where Shared Inquiry/Socratic Seminars come into play. Based on what I've seen of class sizes and my prior experience with classes of 30 (and middle school students at that), I think it is possible to divide classes into two or three groups and have productive and meaningful discussions. Not easy but not as ridiculous as trying to read reams upon reams of tired old themes!

I need to understand the correct approach to literature-as-form and literature-as-content. I'm un-apologetically a content guy. To me, what makes literature interesting is the story and ideas discovered therein. I see a lot of charts and graphic organizers in the English classes I've been in and that makes me a little uncomfortable. That is, I would not be comfortable with assigning too much about theme, genre, mood, tone, etc. Must take a look again at those content standards to see what's required versus what is commonly practiced.

The Goal 

The shape of Socratic circle

Yes, there's too much "teacher" in the photo, but this is the idea: sharing a common text together and working at understanding the meaning. 40-45 students in a classroom - is it possible to teach this way? Yes it is. 

Two Twilight Zone Episodes for the Cold War

It doesn't get much colder than this ... 

When I was teaching middle school Religion I would show a Twilight Zone episode every three weeks or so. To my surprise and delight I found that students just loved these old school shows in black and white with an accessible but often "subversive" undercurrent or message. On more than one occasion, the story-line was so complex or just plain fascinating that we were able to have great Socratic seminars on an episode ("Number 12 Looks Just Like You" generated some great discussion - especially with the girls).

Here are two episodes that my former students loved and I will use again in teaching, say, World History when it comes to the Second World War and after.

The Mirror 
In "The Mirror," Peter Falk is great as a Castro-like revolutionary who seizes power in a former Spanish colony. To ensure the purity of the Revolution and his own safety and maintenance of power, Ramos Clemente orders the executions of hundreds of people. Typical of the type, right? Yes, but the twist is that the former dictator of the country, one General de Cruz, "gifts" Clemente a mirror telling him that it will allow him to see his enemies. The mirror turns out to convince Clemente that all of his trusted Comrades who fought by his side in the glorious revolution are his real enemies. Thus a great slaughter is unleashed.

The Obsolete Man 
From an authoritarian personality we move to a totalitarian system. "The Obsolete Man" concerns a man deemed "obsolete" by the state: his "function" was librarian, but since books no longer exist, he has no purpose and he is scheduled for termination. Some great dialogue and a defense of human dignity. Great plot twist as one expects from Serling.

It gets to the heart of totalitarian paradox: when one surrenders his humanity to the System for safety's sake (or ideological conviction), that very System becomes homicidal, fratricidal and eventually self-imploding (an eventuality that Orwell didn't see but History did -- see the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 or 1989). Or, from the Old Testament: Moloch consumes its own children.

Sample Questions for each episode (the episode was viewed after spending time with a reading that had a similar theme or issue, so the questions are not solely related to the episode).

Questions for "The Mirror"

“The Mirror” (The Twilight Zone) & C.S. Lewis’ “The Fall of Man”

Introduction. In Lewis’ “The Fall of Man,” we are told that God chose not to stop Adam and Eve from sinning nor did He let the first sin (original sin) have no consequences. Instead, God chose to let sin and evil exist and to slowly help us to overcome sin. One thing sin helps us to realize is that our actions are important – they have consequences for good or evil.

In this Twilight Zone episode, we meet a man, Ramos Clemente, who has overthrown an evil dictator, General de Cruz. Will Clemente create peace and freedom for the people or will be no different than General de Cruz? Let's take a look in the mirror.

Directions. Watch the episode and answer the questions.

1. How can a screaming mob make a man drunk?
2. Is rebellion enough to make someone free?
3. What do the people want for General de Cruz?

4. Does Clemente (whose name in Spanish means “gracious” or “merciful”!) want justice for the general? If not, what does Clemente want? If so, what kind of justice does he seek [hint: look at the C.S. Lewis handout...]?
5. The deposed general [removed from the presidency of his country] tells Clemente and his comrades that “You are me … we are all the same breed.” What does he mean? Is it true?
6. General de Cruz tells Clemente that he gives him the gift of __________. Is it a gift or a curse?
7. Why does Clemente trust what he sees in the mirror? Would you trust the mirror?
8. Speaking of the death of his friends (whom he killed!), Clemente admits he felt nothing in killing them. Why does he feel nothing?
9. Is it true that when a man has power (lots and lots of power), he has no friends? Why would anyone then want power?
10. Fr. Tomas tells Clemente that all tyrants have one true enemy. Who is Clemente's real enemy?

Questions for "The Obsolete Man"

“The Obsolete Man” (The Twilight Zone, Season 2)

The Judgment of Men versus the Judgment of God

Vocabulary:

Edict: an official order. Obsolete: out of date; old and no longer needed; replaced by something else. Assassin: a killer who kills someone for political or religious reasons. Anachronism: something that belongs to one time period but not another; for example, a picture of Jesus with an ipod. Liquidation: a way of saying to kill some without saying it directly. Vengeance: punishing someone for what they’ve done

Introduction:

That night the Lord commanded Gideon, “Get up and attack the camp; I am giving you victory over it. But if you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah. You will hear what they are saying, and then you will have the courage to attack.” So Gideon and his servant Purah went down to the edge of the enemy camp. The Midianites, the Amalekites, and the desert tribesmen were spread out in the valley like a swarm of locusts, and they had as many camels as there are grains of sand on the seashore.

When Gideon arrived, he heard a man telling a friend about a dream. He was saying, “I dreamed that a loaf of barley bread rolled into our camp and hit a tent. The tent collapsed and lay flat on the ground.”

His friend replied, “It's the sword of the Israelite, Gideon son of Joash! It can't mean anything else! God has given him victory over Midian and our whole army!”

When Gideon heard about the man's dream and what it meant, he fell to his knees and worshiped the Lord. Then he went back to the Israelite camp and said, “Get up! The Lord is giving you victory over the Midianite army!”

- from Judges 7

In this Twilight Zone episode, we meet Mr. Romney Wordsworth, a man who does something that is not considered “useful”: he is a librarian. He is on trial for his very life. He is being judged by his country, but countries too are judged by God.

Directions. Watch the episode and answer the questions.

1. What is Mr. Wordsworth’s profession?
2. Can a person become “obsolete”?
3. What does Mr. Wordsworth say about what happens to his ideas after he's dead?
4. What does the “jury” decide about Romney Wordsworth?
5. Why does Mr. Wordsworth lock the door?
6. What does the Chancellor say the problem was with Hitler and Stalin?
7. Has the Chancellor underestimated Mr. Wordsworth?
8. How does Mr. Wordsworth spend his time while before midnight?
9. How does the Chancellor spend his time?
10. In whose name does Wordsworth let the Chancellor out?
11. How do things end for the Chancellor?
12. What is one of the lessons of this episode?
13. THEME: Happiness. Compare and contrast how God versus this future State care about human happiness...
14. THEME: Human Weakness. Compare and contrast how God versus this future State treat human weakness...
15. Do you think the future shown in this episode is likely to happen?

The Bible in Literature: First Unit

Graham Greene, "The Second Death" 

A story about two acquaintances (one could hardly call them friends): one dying, the other living. The dying man had "died" before (perhaps it was just a dream he thinks). In that first death, a certain doctor had saved him. The dying man fears death because of his dream or experience the first time, "that other time, I thought that I'd been dead. It wasn't like sleep at all. Or rest in peace. There was someone there all round me, who knew everything....  And I saw what was coming to me too" (Complete Short Stories, page 179). Nevertheless, the dying man does die, fearfully.

The living man (though you can hardly call his life life) was once blind we learn at the end of the story. A man had put spit on his eyes and then he could see.

Without some knowledge of the gospels in the New Testament, this story makes no sense!

Three New Testament Elements

1. The title refers to an allusion of damnation (I'll have to look it up).

2. The dying man is the widow of Nain's son who is restored to life by Jesus (see Luke 7:11-17).

3. The "comforting" friend is a man healed by Jesus in Mark 8:22-26.

Approaching the story.  Read aloud the story once to see if any students get it. Give some clues. Read passages from Luke and Mark and go from there....

Furniture. Or "Saint Ikea, Pray for Us!"

American society at times seems to hinge upon the thesis that buying stuff is "transformative" and necessary for self-realization, so I hate to aid and abet that point of view. However. However, there is something to be said about classroom space.

By space I mean the physical dimensions of the classroom and the arrangement of furniture and its types. Take the typical seat-desk combo found in many schools:

Exhibit A

Sleek, sturdy but of single purpose. Note the fusion of table top and chair (the wire basket underneath is well-intentioned but becomes merely a place that good lose things or place their trash). With this unity of table and chair, there can be no separation. The unit is heavy, unstackable and expansive.

Here is a better alternative: 

Exhibit B

I have come across only one classroom that uses these but they are in service! Notice the adjustable height for starters. Then check out the space saving design (nothing extends beyond the length of the "feet"). Granted, the military hospital green is little dull, but that is far out-weighed by its practicality:

• Need space in the center of the room? Stack 'em! 
• Need a way to section off space in the classroom? Arrange 'em! 
• Need traditional "rows and columns" for a test? Just do it! 

Why is this important? 

Limitations are manifold in teaching. A simple thing like getting students into the right space for learning ought not to be an obstacle. Exhibit A is filled with peril. Exhibit B allows for creativity and flexibility. 

A dude like John Dewey did not have the limitation of reality when he theorized and laboratorized about education. He could tailor make students and their numbers to suit his purposes. He could cherry pick the raw material and be an artist without the constraints we proletarian teachers face. Alas, I need every edge I can get with a classroom of 40 kids. 

Shared Inquiry Discussion

SID is possible with even 40 students and here's how: Rotate 3 groups of students this way: (1) Inner Circle, (2) Outer Circle, Style feedback, (3) Outer Circle, Content feedback.

It needs some fleshing out but problem is solved in the numbers department. 

I have looked closely at every classroom I've subbed in and asked myself, "Could I run a Socratic seminar in here?" For the vast majority of classrooms the answer has been "Not without a big change in the physical layout!"  Next slide:

Exhibit C

Notice this poor teacher. Not only is he shackled with a man-leash but he must feel a bit claustrophobic. There is no space to move. Nowhere to move the furniture, either. 

"Fulcrum, meet Lever. Lever, Fulcrum."  Enough said. The future belongs to the slim and trim table labeled Exhibit B.