The Anti-Snow Dance --Raggs

I had a great idea. I was teaching the Great Depression in my Advanced American Studies classroom, and I realized the excellent educational opportunity that exists given our current economic conditions and the stage of the recovery effort President Obama is in. What a great chance to examine the impact that history has on society today, I thought. And more importantly, it’s an excellent opportunity to relate history to students’ current life, which is the key to motivation for many students. But, if I was going to try to explore the connection, I wanted to do it right. This meant it would not just be a question here and there, but an activity, ideally even a full lesson. This would give students ample opportunities to explore the connections there and see how history really does affect them today.

I was so excited. As per my last entry, I at first had some issues creating interesting and exciting lessons and was ecstatic I had come up with, if I may say so myself, a brilliant idea. I combed the internet for articles exploring the comparison of Obama and Roosevelt and found an excellent New York Times article that outlined many of the similarities between the two men and their eras, as well as a Time magazine cover that had Obama photo-shopped to look like Roosevelt. And while I did feel the students had a decent grasp on the current economic climate, I figured some reinforcement of the situation couldn’t hurt, so I added some graphs and charts on employment, the stock market, and income and savings. And to top it off, I provided the cliff notes version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan of 2009 to see if it looked similar to the New Deal. My brainchild was complete (although I do not pretend to think others had not thought of this idea for a lesson as well).

Then reality hit. Two snow days. Then two days of Standards testing. I all of a sudden had lost two days (as English and History alternate days in my American Studies classroom). We were already a little behind, and this only complicated things. When I sat down to re-plan, I was devastated to discover the easiest way to solve things. It meant mauling my brainchild, which I creatively titled “The New New Deal.” In the course of re-planning my exploration into the current economic climate went from a full lesson, to a half lesson Socratic seminar the last day of the unit, to limited discussion in the second half of the period in which my students took a test (where their attention will surely be minimal). And after creating a test that could accurately measure the learning of my students I realized in all likelihood there would not even be time for a minimal discussion. It now looks like it will be a homework assignment with little to no discussion.

I have loved my student teaching experience thus far. But if there is one frustration I have it is time and standards. On the whole I think standards are both good and necessary. But they are limiting. I think the lesson I had planned would have been very beneficial to students and would have allowed them to make important connections between history and their lives. But, the standards test, which comes before the year is even over, will not have a question of Obama’s stimulus package. And we have to make it to a certain point by the time of the test to ensure our students will receive a passing score. I think everyone, even those who preach the importance of standards, would agree that the goal is to move beyond the standards. Unfortunately, when things have to be cut back to account for unexpected circumstances, the extension activities are usually the first to go. As a teacher, I will try as hard as I can to always move beyond the standards and to teach my students concepts and ideas that connect to their lives, as I have done in this instances as I will at least be able to introduce the similarities and get my students thinking about their current world. But it is not what I wanted it to be, not what I had envisioned. And the standards are not totally to blame (and again, standards are needed), it is simply the time. There is never enough. And this means though that I will likely never do the snow dance with my students. As much as I would love to sleep in, I will be doing the anti-snow dance.