be kind; work hard

    I genuinely enjoyed watching "The Hobart Shakespearians". I was a little put-off by his sense of propriety of the students and their future, or the phrase "I want them to be Americans".  There are layers there (laden with my baggage) about what American success looks like, that make me uncomfortable.  What is apparent is that his day-to-day modus operandi nurtures these kids emotionally, spiritually, and intellectually.  He does this by teaching "by any means necessary" and by putting in 12-hour days, 6 days-a-week.  Such dedication can tap into any teacher's sense of inadequacy in comparison.

     But what is really working in his classroom, and what can we take away?  I keep thinking about the boy who talked about how, when he asked for clarifying questions, other teachers always responded "I just said that, you should've been listening" but Mr. Rafe would "repeat it 500 times" if necessary.  I see the former SO often in my internship it breaks my heart.  Many times even I, the focused adult, "didn't get it", or my mind slipped back to something for a second and I lost the instructions.  There must be some way to minimize the need to ask annoying repeat questions, while communicating to students that they aren't 'bad' for asking again.

      Mantras.  Be kind; work hard.  In lesson planning we should begin with the end in mind, but wouldn't it be powerful if each classroom had a 'bottom line' mantra that framed how the class was run?  Maybe mine will be:  "Be patient; always ask." If we introduce this on the first day of school and come back to it again and again, kids have something to hang their hat on.

     Immediate gratification.  Rafe talked about this in terms of deciding what hotel to check into and what kind of food to feed the kids, but in the classroom the immediate gratification of success, I think, is very important.  Don't let students delay success.  Let them see it now.  This probably involves allowing each student to fully define what success means to them and finding a way to bend the curriculum or the daily lessons to accomodate it.

    Finally, running the classroom on its own 'cash' economy is a very transferable reality.  The only thing I'd change for the high school level is make the most expensive seats the ones in the back of the room, not the ones up by the teacher.