That Darn Yankee and the Almost Mistake

Now, teaching about the Civil War in Virginia as a New Yorker is daunting. But teaching the Civil War for my CT who is an expert and has written books about it, is scarier. In my public school education up North, we spent maybe a week on the entire war. We are spending four weeks on it now. I’m in a whole new ball game.

Before Spring Break, I was teaching the differences between Northerners and Southerners in the Civil War. I came up with a way to creatively teach this in my own unique way. Since my CT was a true Virginian and I am a born and bred New Yorker, we decided to role play a Union and Confederate soldier. As Johnny Reb, my CT put on a confederate costume and talked about missing the plantation and his lack of education on his father’s tenant farm. As Billy Yank, I talked about how my father was an Irish immigrant and my sister worked in the Lowell textile mill. We both refined our accents and spoke in the true regional style.

By the fourth period doing this, my CT and I had this act down pat. I was comfortable with my old “non-teacher Sara speech,” relishing in the fact that my students were getting to see a new side of me. However, I got way too comfortable and turned off my teacher sensor. Somewhere in our act during fourth period, I began to say, “Us New Yorkers like to read magazines, newspapers, and all that other shi… stuff.” I almost cursed in front of the sixth graders. I almost died. I quickly pretended nothing happened and my CT and I continued with the act; on with the show.

I say this was an almost mistake, but really I am horrified that some of the students may have caught on. Luckily, no one said a word and we never heard from a parent. This was one of my biggest lessons that week. I learned that I must always assume the role model position and realized how easy it may be to slip out of it.