February 6, 2012

Compelling Teaching

The adjective “compelling” is defined as (1) “attracting strong interest and attention” and (2) “tending to make somebody do something, make something happen, or be necessary”  (Microsoft 1999). After conducting a dozen classroom observations over the past two weeks, this descriptor fits best. In Courtney Krahn’s class, Literature and Writing: Insights and Strategies, eighth graders participated in readers’ theater of the most compelling scene in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Ms. Krahn had transformed the class into a courtroom. As the judge, prosecutor, defendant, witness, and other roles, some students took on a southern accent, and all were glued to the script.

They understood that this classic embodied their country’s history, and could easily imagine the small-town setting divided by privilege and belief. Previously the novel had been assigned to tenth grade, but our eighth graders have had little trouble passing the daily pop quizzes on reading homework. In Ms. Krahn’s English Support class, a small group of students gathered with excitement to review the next day’s reading, benefiting from pre-teaching activities that increase success in the big class.

Walking a semicircle over to Advanced Placement U.S. History with Joe Towle, I found a junior teaching her classmates about political conflict at the turn of the 20^th century, aided by a laptop and LCD projector. Mr. Towle stood in back, asking critical questions and listening to the methodical analysis emerging from the other students. By contributing additional facts, they broadened their understanding of the prevailing ideologies, crucial events, and newly-passed laws of the era. Again, they were compelled by the content, refusing to be left out of the discourse on America’s discordant past.

In Pre-Algebra, John Beagan’s seventh and eighth graders rushed to rearrange their desks, join their partners, and measure the rise over run to determine slope. They built a tower of books from which to make observations, crunch numbers, and write up their findings. Mr. Beagan had no need to redirect misbehavior; all students were compelled by the learning activity’s variability set by their own hands. Those who finished before the class’s end began writing their procedures and observations in the calculations.

Down one level, where Stephanie Nyzio’s Foundations of Art class painted traditional values in black and white acrylics from a light source. For centuries, artists have begun their education with this not-so-easy task to see and depict the three-dimensional form onto a two-dimensional surface. Students were silent with compelling focus in the dim room. To succeed as painters and grow as observers of fine details that few notice in the rush of life, they absorbed the lesson.

On C-Level, students felt compelled to play “pickle-ball” for one reason: love of the game. The funny name belies a compeition requiring an aerobic pace and fast eye-hand coordination to win. Physical Education teacher Thomas Russell held them back a few minutes with directions for serving pickle-ball, which is a cross between badminton and squash. With four players on each court, students ran quickly to swing and score. In another school I know “four-square” was the favorite pastime. At Leland and Gray, students can laugh at the name and jump right into the fun, healthy, stress-reducing exercise of pickle-ball. Calling out instructions and praise, Mr. Russell’s voice resonated with the joy of watching students learn by doing, whether among seventh grade girls’ basketball or in PE class.

When students view classroom learning as compelling, they engage, appreciate, understand, and remember their lessons. Leland and Gray has strengthened course curriculum for relevance and rigor to attract students’ interest and cultivate the belief that high-level learning is necessary for immediate and future success. Spending time in our classrooms, I am reminded of President Obama’s (2012) testimonial in his recent State of the Union address:

A great teacher can offer an escape from poverty to the child who dreams beyond his circumstance. Every person in this chamber can point to a teacher who changed the trajectory of their lives. Most teachers work tirelessly, with modest pay, sometimes digging into their own pocket for school supplies -- just to make a difference. Teachers matter.

School Budget Information Meeting and Voting Day

Please join us on Tuesday, February 7^th at 7:30pm in Leland and Gray’s gymnasium for the Annual Meeting. The LGUHS School Board and administration will present the 2012-13 School Budget and answer questions from the public. While copies of the Annual Report and Principal’s Budget Rationale will be available at the meeting, these and other pertinent documents can be found on the school website at

http://lelandandgray.org/index.php/184-leland-and-gray/news/241-bud2013.

Voting by Australian Ballot takes place on Wednesday, February 8^th at local polling locations, beginning at 9am in Brookline, 10am in Jamaica, 9am in Newfane, 9am in Townshend, and 10am in Windham. Polls close at 7pm in all locations.

Parent Advisory Group

Due to February vacation, the Parent Advisory Group, will postpone its meeting to the 4^th Tuesday of the month to February 28^th at 7-8pm in the library. Please join us to share your views with the principal and fellow parents/guardians.

Works Cited

     Microsoft Corporation, EncartaWorld English Dictionary. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.,
     1999. Print.

     Obama, Barack. “Obama’s State of the Union Address: Full Text.” CBS News, 24
     January 2012. Web. 4 February 2012.