We moved this month, and it wasn’t one of your quick moves. Read what I believe in below!
We did one of those once, from one cabin to the one next door, carrying our furniture and baskets of stuff across a soon well-worn path through the woods.
But no, this one was an international move across four flights and nine time zones, with some of our stuff going by shipping container across the Atlantic, some by moving truck across the U.S., and some by plane with us.
And then there was the cat.
Anyway, I’ve been meeting a lot of new people and trying to describe my work, which is always a humorous challenge.
“I write curriculum for creative English teachers,” I might say.
“I’m a podcaster.”
“I help English teachers try out new creative methods. I love it.” People nod and smile, but really, they have no idea what I mean. There’s no glow of recognition like when I used to say “I’m a teacher.”
All this introducing myself has made me think about what’s really important to me, and I want to re-introduce myself here, with my own little spinoff of NPR’s famous “This I believe” series (one of my favorite writing units, by the way, check out episode 76).
So here goes. I guess you could call this my manifesto.
I believe that communication today has changed, and that we can’t prioritize print over all other vehicles for sharing ideas. I see this everywhere. Like when I open Instagram and see a physical therapist teaching health strategies on Reels, surf the New York Times online and discover journalists showcasing war stories through audio clips, or listen to a podcast all about how politicians are pushing millions of dollars in commercial messaging onto television channels. Audio, video, and visuals make up a huge part of communication today, and they need to be blended with writing and mixed into our work in English class.
There’s a lot of ways for that to happen that prioritize critical thinking, evidence-gathering, research, and strong writing. Students can script and record podcasts, adapt literary moments onto the screen, create social media around social issues, and learn the elements of design that work with messages instead of against them. I believe all classrooms should have the benefit of a free Canva for Education setup, so they can learn to use the tools that used to be available only to those who could pay thousands for Photoshop.
There’s a flip side for me, though, to all this multigenre exploration. I believe in books. I believe we shouldn’t slice and dice the curriculum into excerpts, articles, and short stories, replacing libraries with the Common Lit website.
It’s like replacing meals entirely with snacks. Sure, snacks are fantastic, but they aren’t INSTEAD of meals.
What if next Thanksgiving, you drove to the airport at 5 am, flew to the closest airport to your in-laws, rented a car, drove across Idaho, and finally arrived at 8 pm for the family dinner, only to be met by Turkey-flavored pretzels and pecan-coated pumpkin animal crackers?
That’s how I feel when I hear books have been replaced entirely in an English classroom.
I believe in book clubs and choice reading!
Because I believe we need whole class novels. Book clubs. Choice reading. In an ideal world, all of the above, in every grade level, every year. I believe we should be funding classroom libraries instead of practice tests, book club selections instead of internet snippet subscriptions. I believe kids will remember The Outsiders and Long Way Down long after every article generated to their exact lexile level and custom formulated to appeal to their generic interests has completely faded from memory. Which reminds me, I believe book banning is ABSURD, and kids need a wide variety of books available to them so they can see themselves, learn about others, AND find a vehicle for those two processes that makes them want to keep turning the page.
I believe in hoopla. I believe almost every unit should have a project that makes a splash and an authentic audience for that project. I believe in inviting guest judges from the community to poetry slams, administrators to class plays, and journalists to literary food truck festivals. I believe in submitting to essay competitions, holding student film festivals, and baking something delicious for the final unit showcase. I like to form student P.R. committees during events, so they can document the event for the class and for the community.
I believe in student-led discussion, even when you’re scared it will be crickets for thirty minutes straight. I love The Harkness method, and have watched in wonder as it transformed the way kids communicated with each other year after year after year. I’ve seen the class talker learn to listen, and my most silent student, an artist just emerging as a bilingual speaker, wow his peers with his ideas. I believe the ping pong ball method of discussion doesn’t work, and it’s exhausting, and no teacher should have to try to keep the ball up in the air with all eyes on her day after day after day.
I Believe…
I believe English major jokes are a mistake. I believe our discipline is just as exciting as STEM or STEAM or STEAMLA or whatever it is now. I don’t think AI is more important than learning to communicate ideas with excellence, across channels, to make an impact on the world. Talented English majors can found nonprofits and start-ups, help leaders make change, inform people about the most important issues we face and actually get their attention to DO something about them,
I believe in no drama, no gossip, no competing to see who’s the best teacher, who has the brightest classroom, or who can become an icon at the school. I believe we need to come together in our profession whenever we can, online and off, to share our ideas and do the best we can. No classroom will be the same because no teacher has the same gifts. Luckily, no student has the same needs, so we can all contribute something if we try.
OK, I believe this podcast is at its end.
