The Tipping Point

Day 3:

    Today was a little less confusing, in that, I was able to figure out exactly what it was that I needed to be doing. Further, the addition of actual breakfast this morning was nice indeed. It is so much easier to think straight when there is food in your gut. I went to school a little earlier than usual in order that I may speak with the different teachers and set up an exact time for me to do my observations. I found that yesterday was difficult as I wandered around the school like a stray dog. Today, I had a very interesting conversation with one of the middle school teachers concerning testing. Most of this week has been dedicated to preparations for the tests coming next week. He points out that test review is incredibly important out here as one student and one extra point can be the difference between the school making AYP or not.

    It makes sense, with a smaller student body every point counts all the more. I spent the first period in an seventh/eighth grade class preparing to give a media lesson. One that I had on hand for the concept of beauty. I use the Youtube video: Dove Evolution and discuss what it means to be “beautiful.” I wasn’t sure what to expect. As the class period approached, I got all the ends tied up. I decided to do away with the written portion for the ads after the short video in favor of an open air discussion. I started the class with the prompt, “What does it mean to be beautiful.” I was received with blank stares and a single comment. “It means to be pretty.”

    Right away I could tell I was wrangling a completely different animal. As I sat trying to decide the best way to approach it, the classroom teacher butted in. As I would find out, this would become a running trend through the rest of the lesson. I wasn’t concerned about the kids getting it, nor was I uncomfortable, I was trying to make use of wait time. Yet, I found that it continually got filled by the other teacher, often to the distraction of the students. I managed to get the lesson of the ground and got them to start putting concepts together. Then I showed them the video clip.

    They were shocked. I don’t think that any of them had seen anything like it. We again returned to the discussion about beauty. This time I could see that many of them were engaged, even if they were saying little. We started talking about what it means to manipulate an image or an idea. We talked about selling products and I asked them if they had ever had an experience where they bought something and it failed to live up to expectation. There were numerous responses.

    Interestingly, I found that many of my common analogies did not compute. “Does beautiful mean to be like Brad Pit?” was met with confusion and, “Who is Brad Pit?” Talking about makeup and clothing was a little bit different, so I quickly changed gear and began talking about hunting and fishing gear instead. Talking about tackle and the like, this seemed to get me a little further with the class. After I felt as though they had the idea, we returned to the video and began counting/listing the things that were modified on the model. From lights, to make up, to photoshop. They were very surprised and I asked them if any one could be beautiful with this in mind. They got it, "No!" was the resounding answer.

    I changed over to the print ads and began talking about them in turn, it was clear that one of the ad’s promises to turn, “frizzy hair into foxy momma hair” had no connection to the culture or the class. This was a bit awkward to explain. The Marlboro Man ad was a lot easier for them to dig into. As we came to the end of our ads and the place that I would have my other classes write responses, It became clear that I would not get that kind of involvement. So, I simply asked if we should continue, or if they were board. They wanted me to continue.

    So we used google to look up spoof ads for the remaining ten minutes and talk about those. I was happy to see how on task the class was and considerably more animated than when I had began. I concluded the class and thanked the instructor. After this I made my way down to a different class that caters to the special needs kids, which seems a bit of a misnomer out here. Everyone is intensive aid. Everyone needs a differentiated approach. These kids where in the middle of cooking class, and as it turns out, in need of some assistance with fried rice. Being that I have been a chef for a greater part of my life, I fit right in and the teacher capitalized on my experience. I have to admit this was the best lesson I have ever taught. I love cooking and I love teaching could it get any better? The answer is yes - I could be paid.

    I was invited back tomorrow to show the kids another dish. Looking through the meager food stores, I discovered that I could easily short hand - Chicken Parmesan. I'll write about that in tomorrows entry. I spent the rest of the day helping out around the school. Everything from moving boxes to rehanging doors that did not sit plumb. I spent the rest of the day observing the special education class along with stopping in to play with the little kids in fourth and fifth. I also played a few rounds of basketball against gangs of fourth graders - man I suck at that sport.

    The rest of the evening was pretty uneventful. I went for a walk after school out on to the tundra and circled back to the road, I then returned home and made dinner. After this I slunk back to the school to work on odds and ends until around 12:00 am. I managed to find some time to run around the gym and play basket ball during this time as well. Despite the rocky start, this trip is turing into be quite an experience.