Not only is it the title of the 2006 World Cup theme song, performed by Simply Red, but it is also the realization of my true role as a teacher.

In case you are one of the few people who don’t already know, I am the new government teacher for a private boarding school in southern Virginia.  I must confess something also:  I’ve only taught government as a substitute!  My employer knows this fact, but it also knows the bold but true statement I declared during my telephone interview:  ”…but I am quite confident that I can teach government.”  And I am.  Mostly.

When it dawned on me that I am really a government teacher, I must say that I was very overwhelmed and very scared.  You see, my graduate school program and student teaching only prepared me to teach the history aspect of social studies.  Teaching government will be from scratch for me.  However, there is a great deal of overlap in content knowledge between history and government.  I discover this truth increasingly as I continue to read government books throughout the month of April.  A former-teacher friend of mine is spot on:  ”You are smart, and you know this stuff.”  I can feel as inadequate and inept as I wish to feel, but I actually know this stuff and can and will teach government.

As I created my course descriptions last week, I learned that I actually did use some of my graduate studies in utilizing the Backwards Planning model, but formatted in paragraphs rather than bullet points.  Further, history is the study of all aspects of the past as they are relevant to present students.  Therefore, history content includes government content.  Therefore, making course outlines and syllabi become magically easy – almost.  The important content components, learning and teaching strategies, and desired student outcomes have formulated themselves naturally.  I am even almost to the point of creating my syllabus for the approved elective course on Communism in the Twentieth Century.  I am even ready to begin reading the students’ assigned reading list for the course.  Why worry, it only wastes emotions and accomplishes nothing.  I wish I could remember this tome always.

Actually, a thought came to mind as I reflected on the fact that the reading list consists of books in which I’ve only read the back covers and synopses from Amazon and Borders.  I will engage in the learning process along with the student.  So then, what will ensure I can teach this material to the children if I haven’t studied it all yet?  Simple.  I have already acquired the learning skills I wish to create in my students.  Plus, with social studies there are facts, but much social studies is discussion and sharing of ideas based on those facts.  Therefore, in such a respect, we will all be both students and teachers at the same time.  Doesn’t that sound exciting?

I share these words in the hopes that a newly-hired teacher such as myself – who may have no teaching experience in the subject that they will teach – will find his or her mind at rest and feel empowered and encouraged to take on the adventure with vigor and confidence.

In the words of the renowned actor, Rob Schneider, “You can do it!”

Take care, Eric

I am sorry that I have not posted a new article this week.  There have been many things happening lately in my life – in a good way – regarding my career.  As a result, there will be slight changes in my Home, Resume, and About Me pages.

Stay tuned!

In last week’s article, “Why I Broke the Rules, Part 1,” I explained a situation in which I was faced with deciding whether it was appropriate to break a rule in the support of effective student learning.  The following story will illustrate another similar situation that occurred later the same day and how I chose to handle the situation.

My second account of technology usage occurred later that afternoon in a ninth grade geography course.  Again, a class spent in review for an upcoming exam, students completed packets.  Being that geography is an important discipline for state testing, most – if not all -students were motivated to do well.  Just like any typical inclusion classroom, varying levels of learning challenges were present and easily identifiable after a few moments of observation.  Being this class is about geography, many modalities can easily be presented (i.e. maps, atlases, globes, class notes, verbal examples).  I ensured students had access to these tools.  I even crumpled a nice clean sheet of paper to demonstrate the definition of map distortion.

However, learning tools possess their limitations.  This statement is true of the classroom atlases.  Many of the country names and borders were difficult to read clearly, so served little purpose in the learning of many students.  I discovered this shortcoming – not by student commentary – but by the emergence of an iPhone (again).

Taking into account my episode with the Spanish class earlier in the day, I peered over the shoulder of the student wielding the outlawed device.  He was using an iPhone app that utilizes many maps and atlases.  This app can zoom in and out, as well as more clearly show the names of locations than the print classroom atlases.  Again, a student broke the rules, and again I looked the other way in the name of furthering student academic success.

I watched throughout the course of the class as his confidence and understanding increased.  Later, I saw the similar

passing back and forth of a device as I had seen in the other classroom.  He unlocked the key to his learning and wanted to share that experience without someone else.  To stop this “moment” and strictly enforce the school policy would have been completely inappropriate, in my opinion.

Many of my readers know I am a strong advocate of technology in the classroom, that I believe such ideology opens students to new and better ways of learning, and that it keeps instruction current in our Twenty-First Century world.  Perhaps my allowance of unapproved technology in the classroom can be construed as defiance to the traditional education system and to the school where I taught.  However, I assure my readers that the opposite is true.  I greatly support the education system in our country – otherwise why would I want to participate in it?  I simply adopt a philosophy of change analogous to that of Booker T. Washington and his ideals of change within civil rights:  Change from within established systems is more effective to all than is creating an entirely new system from the ground up.  The latter ideal does carry its benefits, but economically and governmentally can encounter far more challenges.

In closing, I prefer to teach from the perspective of my students – using their society, context and culture – rather that from only my perspective.  After all, I already know the curriculum in which I teach, but my students need to know it also and experience an environment that allows connection between curriculum and culture.  The way to keep learning new, fresh and effective is to keep open ears, open eyes, and an open mind.

My life as a substitute, and as an educator, encountered a semi-ethical dilemma about a month ago.  No, I did nothing that will my result in my face becoming plastered on the evening news, nor did I destroy my career in any other manner.  However, I did break a cardinal rule at one of the schools in which I usually teach:  I allowed students to use their iPods and iPhones in class!  Okay, before you reach for the phone to call the local authorities – so as to have my teaching licenses revoked – let me explain.

My first count of technology use occurred in an upper level Spanish class.  It is standard policy at this particular school that cell phones and mp3 players are strictly forbidden.  Of course, when a substitute teacher is manning the helm, these rules go out the window in the minds of most students.  Usually, I enforce these rules of the road, however this time I hesitated in order to do a little undercover observation.  My expectations were that these devices were being used to listen to music or to text message friends in other classes – since that is typically the case.  To my chagrin, they were using them for…study aids!  I overheard one young man whisper to the young lady across the aisle, “Check out this translator app.  It’s much better than our dictionaries over on the shelf!”  The girl looked over his shoulder and smiled, followed by the two students passing the iPhone back and forth during class.

It turns out this was not an isolated incident either.  Two other students were “playing” with their iPhones to do the same thing.  These kids, on their own, found study materials that surpassed the effectiveness of those aids provided by their teacher.  This bridge to higher learning happened with the use of contraband, but how could I bring down the law on these resourceful, intelligent minds?  After all, isn’t that the kind of forward thinking we want our sons and daughters to acquire and use as leaders?

If a member of faculty or administration had walked past the open door and discovered this travesty, we all surely

would have been disciplined.  However, I assure you all that it was not my intent to circumvent authority or school procedures – or to display disrespect to school administration.  Rather, I saw a real learning moment going on in the classroom and took on a the-ends-justify-the-means stance in maintaining this environment of achievement.

Check back next week to learn how I discovered student-initiated learning through use of forbidden technology, and what I did about it.