Not Bad for a Math Teacher

Those of you who divide the universe into words on the one hand and numbers on the other--and the world's  6.8 billion people into number folk on the one hand and word folk on the other--would have suffered a paradigm-shattering, world-view-reversing, soul-wrenching epiphany at the sight of Kayron Wright's seventh grade Ethics class today.

Mr. Wright teaches seventh grade math. Does this mean he's some kind of crazy mathematical genius who can figure, in a matter of seconds and doing only mental math, the probability of a UFR Oce copy jam given the time of day and the urgency of the last job sent? Sure it does.

But the kid has a way with words, too. Just listen to him string those syllables, words, sentences--whole dissertations streaming effortlessly from from the vastness of his intellect and simmering over the glowing coals of his conviction.  He's a freak of nature.

But most impressive to me was the way he uses those words to engage his students in discussion. Observing his class is like sitting in a forest of arms. Being called on by Mr. Wright is like winning the lottery. Every student has an opinion, and they all compete for a share of the spotlight.

How does he do this?

• The reading and the discussion are one. Ethics lessons generally follow the structure of read first and then discuss. Mr. Wright alters the structure, reading and discussing in the process of reading. He has a nose for the most controversial, surprising, or  engaging points of the text. He finds them, pauses, and questions. In today's story about a social worker who was mugged and then treated his mugger to dinner, there were many such hot points--like when the social worker hands his wallet over to the mugger and then offers his coat as the mugger was leaving the scene. "What?!" Mr. Wright thinks out loud. "Did I hear that right? He gave the mugger his coat and the mugger hadn't even asked for it? Is he crazy?" It turns out that the students don't think he's crazy, just extremely and uncommonly compassionate. They discuss this act briefly and get to why it is so extreme and so surprising. Then, they continue with the reading, with a very clear sense that we are not dealing with a typical mugging or a typical victim of a mugging. They are glued to the text.
• Mr. Wright is not afraid to put himself on stage. When his students reach the passage where the social worker and the mugger are ordering dinner at the social worker's favorite diner, Mr. Wright acts the part of the social worker. "Look, I know you just mugged me and you have my wallet and a big knife, but what can I order you for dinner?" No question necessary. No prompting needed. Every hand is up. Everybody weighs in on this scene.
• Interruptions are allowed. Hands go up in the middle of sentences, and Mr. Wright pauses. "You have a question?" "No," replies the student. "I have a story..." He tells two stories, the first of which is relevant to the text, a nice personal connection. The second is a bit of a stretch. "Let's get back to what's happening here in the diner." Mr. Wright keeps control of the discussion.
• Connect it back to the big picture. As the reading is coming to an end, he asks the students what this social worker has in common with Mohandas K. Gandhi and other stories that they have read in Ethics Class. Most of the questions Mr. Wright poses are not written in the lesson materials. He is off-script for most of the lesson (aside from attending closely to the reading provided). But he knows exactly where he wants to lead his students and he keeps the larger themes of this part of the 7th grade Ethics curriculum firmly in mind.

I have a feeling Mr. Wright could ignite a riotous discussion about doorknobs if necessary.

Top Ten Ethical Issues for College Freshman

The Big Q, Santa Clara University

Friday, June 10, 2011

You're off to college. You've filled out your roommate survey and ordered your "dorm in a bag" set, joined the Class of 2015 Facebook group from your school and maybe even thought about what classes to take. But there’s another way to be prepared: Imagine what you will do when you face “The Top Ten Ethical Questions for College Freshmen.”

What am I doing here? Let's be honest: A lot of kids are headed for college because it's the thing you do after high school. But you'll get more out of the experience if you think about why you're doing it: To train for a job? To be exposed to great ideas? To party? A bit of each? Your answers to these questions will form the kind of person you become in college.

Do my parents belong at college? Should your parents have a say in your choice of major? Do they have a right to see your grades? Can you ask them to call a teacher when you’re having trouble in a class or contact a dean if you have a disciplinary problem? Many parents want to be involved (especially when they’re paying the bill), but when is that reasonable guidance and when is it an intrusion? Now that you’re 18, aren’t you an adult with adult responsibilities?

Do I want to rush a fraternity or sorority? If you’ve been thinking about this question in terms of how to improve your social life, you may want to add an ethical dimension to your internal debate. By its nature, the Greek system is exclusive; some people don’t get in. Do you want to belong to that kind of group? What are the kinds of activities, social and philanthropic, that the different sororities and fraternities on your campus support. Do these match your values?

How will I interact with people who are different from me?Your decisions about how you will deal with diversity may start before you even get to campus, when you must decide whether to live in a racially or ethnically themed dorm. Or they may arise when you're invited to a "Ghetto" or "Fresh Off the Boat" or "South of the Border" theme party. How will you treat people from other backgrounds? How much do you want to move outside your own group?

My roommate is anorexic, a drug dealer, a World of Warcraft addict, an aggressive vegan …. You’ve heard the roommate horror stories. While you’re trying to figure out how to handle a difficult roommate, considering the ethical side of things may help. What kind of obligations do friends have to each other? What is the fair thing to do when two people have to share a space? What behaviors are so dangerous that you have to kick the problem up to the next level?

What about cheating? Okay, this is an oldie, but you may be surprised by the new variations it comes in once you’re in college. Your calculus teacher may encourage you to work collaboratively with your classmates on problem sets, but your chemistry teacher does not. Is it cheating to study with a partner in chemistry? When you’re assigned a group project the same month as you have to play in three away baseball games, is it cheating if you don’t do as much work as the other members of your group? You’re pre-med but you have to take an art history course; how bad is it to copy the homework for a class you’ll never use in your professional life?

Should I call the EMTs? More than 70 college students have died from alcohol poisoning since 2004, according to media reports compiled by CompelledtoAct.com. In some instances, their friends had hesitated to call emergency personnel because they didn’t want to get their drunk friend in trouble or because they themselves were underage and had been drinking. If one of your friends is in danger, will you call the EMTs no matter what the consequences may be?

Facebook posting or cyberbullying? In a recent study from Indiana State University, almost 22 percent of college students reported that they had been cyberbullied and 25 percent said they had been harassed through a social networking site. Is that comment you’re posting for all the world to see harmless gossip or are you going to be making someone else’s freshman year a living hell? And what does it really mean to be a Facebook "friend"?

Sex!!!??? Ethics is about how we treat other people. Nowhere is that concern more complicated than in the realm of sex. Of course many high school students are already sexually active (62 percent of seniors in a 2003 study by the Center’s for Disease Control). But college, where you live your everyday life out of the view of most people over 21, is different. Before you come to campus, think about the place you want sex to have in your relationships. And then get ready for the ways your resolution may be challenged by alcohol, loneliness, and what everybody else is doing.

How do I treat the people who work for me? In college, a host of people keep your campus functioning. There’s a guy who trims the roses, and a woman who cleans the common areas of your dorm, and a secretary who works for the bursar. Do you even acknowledge these workers when you pass them? Do you make the effort to get rid of the pizza boxes after the dorm meeting or separate your dishes from your silverware on the lunchroom conveyor belt? If you don’t, what does that say about the respect you have for the people who work for you?

A version of this article first appeared on The Huffington Post, May 3, 2011.

Posted by Miriam Schulman

"I Won't Put Myself In His Shoes"

Compassion can be a tough sell, especially to an 8th grade boy with a reputation to protect. He has to appear hard, unmoved by the suffering of others, ruthless in defense of himself and what's his. For him, a discussion in Ethics Class is just another part of a larger PR campaign. He has to stay on-message.

The 8th grade boy profiled above--we'll call him Andre--was the last to find his seat in Molly Stone's Ethics class this morning. He sat sideways, with his back turned to most of the circle. When the Do Now arrived in front of him, he scribbled something quickly and then put his head down on the table.

There was a brief discussion of the Do Now, and then a reading about a school bus driver who was able to help a troubled student come out of her shell during bus rides to and from school. The bus driver exemplified the 8th grade maxim for compassion: walk a mile in someone else's shoes. The discussion that followed began with an analysis of the bus driver walking a mile in the troubled girl's shoes. The conversation got more interesting--as it usually does--when the students brought it home to their experiences with others who, like the girl in the reading, struggle to connect socially.

Michael offered an anecdote about a boy on his bus with bad oral hygiene. Michael's intentions seemed much more comedic than ethical, and his audience was right there on board with him. Bad breath is funny when it happens to other people. But the source of the humor was not really the boy's bad breath. The boy was socially isolated. Nobody would talk to him. Everybody laughed at him. It was the boy's painful humiliation that Ms. Stone's advisory found so funny. Andre was laughing loudest.

Ms. Stone wasn't laughing. But she did not berate her students for laughing (as I was tempted to do). She did not express any disappointment at their reaction. She let them laugh. And then dug deeper.

"Okay, on the surface it's a funny story. But, can anyone walk a mile in this boy's shoes?"

"I'd probably just give him a mint." With that Andre inspired another round of laughter. All eyes eventually turned to Ms. Stone, who was waiting patiently to continue the discussion.

"But can you put yourself in his situation? What do you think it would be like?"

"No, I can't put myself in his situation." His tone was more serious now. He wanted Ms. Stone to back off.

"Let's take a different example, then." She returned to the girl in today's reading. "The girl with 'behavior problems' turned out to be quite happy on the bus mostly because of the way the bus driver and the other kids treated her. Do you notice that this happens in school? Do students who seem to have 'behavior problems' in some contexts behave well in other contexts? Does it have anything to do with the way others see them or treat them?"

Andre straightened up in his seat. He raised his hand. He wanted back in.

"Sometimes when a teacher gives me lots of demerits or sends me out--especially a new teacher--I think about how hard that must be to teach all of us. I mean, how hard it must be to be a new teacher at this school."

And as Andre went so went the rest of the boys in the group. They shared earnest stories of stepping into the shoes of others and the discussion took on a life of its own. Happy ending.

Andre and Ms. Stone clearly have a history. She knew exactly which buttons to press and which ones not to press. She could have jumped all over his antics and disengagement early in the discussion--and we all know she would have done that if she thought it would be fruitful. Instead, she gave him some space to engage on his own terms, confident all the while that he would make good use of the opportunity. He knew she expected him to, and she knew he wanted to.

We should be mindful that this approach would not work to re-engage all resistant students. Harder redirection is often necessary. But in this case, Ms. Stone relied on her knowledge of Andre and a relationship she has built with him over a long period of time, walking miles and miles in his shoes.

Schell Shines as Rhymes Busta

It is annoying that although we teachers deserve celebrity status, so often we lack real star power in the eyes of our students. We have the talent and grit but not the fame or fortune that lends credibility to people like, for instance, Busta Rhymes.

Busta Rhymes is a widely admired Grammy-nominated rap artist with 9 albums to his credit and millions of devoted fans worldwide. In 2006, he witnessed the murder of his close friend, confidant, and bodyguard Israel Ramirez. In a statement released to MTV, Rhymes expressed his deepest condolences for the loss of the man he described as "one of those rare friends you come across that you can trust your life with." Yet Busta Rhymes released no statement to the police investigating Ramirez's murder. He was there, he saw it happen, but he would not "snitch" even to put the man who murdered a close friend behind bars. It was not out of distrust of the police or the threat of retribution that Rhymes kept his silence. Rather, it was an effort to maintain his "hard-core" image that helped him sell his records.

Today, seventh grade Ethics teacher Gretchen Schell boldly took on Busta Rhymes with all his gold and platinum records and throngs of fans. It was a classic teacher v. celebrity showdown, except this one was even more rigged than usual in favor of celebrity. Not only did Ms. Schell have to take down Busta Rhymes but she also had to contend with the whole "stop snitchin'" street culture that so many of our younger students want so badly to identify themselves with.

Yet Ms. Schell did not flinch. After her students read the Busta Rhymes story, she calmly, matter-of-factly stirred the pot and then let her students do the talking.

"Well, maybe if it was a family member I'd talk to the police," began one student. We'll call him Caleb. "But for a friend I wouldn't. I don't snitch. It's just something I've been taught."

Some snaps and some nods, mostly from the boys in the group. Sheila had her hand up and by the look on her face, she has a counterpoint.

"How would you feel if the tables were turned? If your were shot or hurt or something and your friend was a witness? I know you'd want your friend to have your back. You'd want someone to pay the price for hurting you."

All eyes were back to Caleb. "I'd want someone to pay but not by the police. I'd want my friend to--"

"But that's just going to cause more violence." Sheila was not going to let him off the hook. "You know you would want someone to help you, so why wouldn't you do that for someone else?"

"I guess I would eventually have to tell to get it off my chest," admitted Caleb. "I wouldn't want to carry that weight."

Ms. Schell then focused the discussion on the choice Busta Rhymes made. "What should be more important to Busta Rhymes, his hard-core reputation or standing by his friend and his friend's family?"

"This reminds me of something Mr. Dobberfuhl wrote on the board," announced Jasmine. "Would you rather be famous for something bad or not be famous but be a good person?"

Nods and snaps signaled consensus. Busta Rhymes was busted. At least for the ten minutes that remained in Ethics Class.

But it's a start. In years past, Busta Rhymes has almost always won this one.

Henning Wins Despite Shaky Stuff

Teaching is often compared to playing baseball, but most people I've talked to get this metaphor all wrong. Most people compare teaching to hitting. When you absolutely kill the lesson you say that you "hit it out of the park." When your students are difficult you say that you have to take whatever they're "pitching" and try your best to put the barrel of the bat on it. Sometimes you can, sometimes you can't.

But this is all wrong. Teaching isn't like hitting. Hitting is much more passive than teaching. There's a lot of waiting, watching, and reacting that hitters do at the plate. Teachers don't have this luxury in the classroom. A good hitter carefully selects those pitches into which he will invest a precious swing. A good teacher can't be so choosy. She invests in every student.

Teaching is much more like pitching. Specifically, the teacher is like the starting pitcher. The starting pitcher is in control of the game. The decisions that the starting pitcher makes (certainly with the help and guidance of the catcher), and the pitcher's ability to execute these decisions, affect the course of the game much more than the decisions that any one batter makes. Similarly, the decisions that the teacher makes have a heavy impact on the way a particular lesson goes--almost always heavier than the decisions that any one student makes.

Major League pitchers report that they have their "best stuff" (their arm and all their pitches are performing at their best) about 25% of the time. When they have their best stuff, they are dominant and unbeatable. They report that they have "good stuff" (all of their pitches are generally working for them, though maybe not at their best) about 50% of the time. They can hope to keep their team in the game. The 25% of the time when a Major League pitcher does not have his good stuff... that's what really separates the great pitchers from the good ones.

A great pitcher can win even when he does not have his "good stuff." His curve ball hangs in the strike zone, so he knows he can't use it or he will eventually get shelled. His fastball does not have the usual zip, so he better be painting the edges of the plate, or it's batting practice. When the old reliable isn't working, a great pitcher finds another way to win.

8th grade Ethics teacher Greg Henning did not have his best stuff today. It wasn't his fault. He was working with a bad lesson. It was a brand new lesson for this year focusing on the story of George Washington Carver. It would have been a blockbuster lesson, except that the text, which should have brought the courage and resourcefulness of George Washington Carver to vivid life, was instead fairly dull--like a two-seam fastball with no action.

His students read it reluctantly, with a dreary monotone. They got it (thanks to some crafty real-time vocabulary support from Mr. Henning), but they didn't care much about it.

Henning battled through it, though, and kept his team (his students) in the game. Here's how he did it:

The text wasn't getting them, so he let the merits fly. They were all good, legit merits--an unusual and original answer, a brilliant use of textual evidence. As soon as he started throwing merits he got the crowd back into it. The discussion flowed much more enthusiastically.

He went off-script, adding questions of his own to the discussion. What fears do you think Dr. Carver would have felt? Raise your hand if you have ever felt these fears. When? Tell the story. Henning's students, as it turned out, were much more interested in talking about themselves than Dr. Carver.

Bur Mr. Henning did not abandon Dr. Carver. The text wasn't thrilling, yet he still recognized that it was important for his students to know Dr. Carver's story and to be able to relate their lives to it. So now do you see why this was difficult for George Washington Carver?

It would be great if every Ethics lesson provided enough inspiration right there on the page to captivate and motivate students, so that teachers would not have to work as hard as Mr. Henning to engage, energize, and provoke. But this is a quixotic fantasy. In reality, pitchers and teachers don't always have dominant stuff to work with. Sometimes they can win anyways.

Dobber Fuhl of Socratic Spunk

Following last week's Ethics class, 7th grade Ethics teacher Adam Dobberfuhl reported that his Barnard homeroom engaged in a very honest discussion about cheating and the 7th grade maxim for courage, "get involved." His students resisted the idea that they have a responsibility to get involved when they witness another student cheating at school. He honored his students' objections with air time during the discussion and he mostly listened. As a result, he came to a clear understanding of exactly what many of his students were objecting to.

Mr. Dobberfuhl's students did not believe they were affected by the cheating of other students. I don't cheat, they said, but it's not my problem if somebody else does. I don't see why I should get involved.

What if it's your friend who is cheating? Wouldn't you want to help your friend shed this bad habit?

The response to this scenario was interesting. They would not get involved in this case, either, because the cheating, many argued, would eventually catch up with the cheater. The cheater would get caught, learn the lesson, never cheat again. If I just let nature takes its course, they reasoned, the bad habit would break itself. There's no need for me to get involved.

Mr. Dobberfuhl relayed all of this to me, and I was able to plant a slightly different take on the same theme in this week's Do Now. This time, it's on the bus. Charles, a popular 7th grader, witnesses Alex, his 6th grade cousin, being bullied. Charles chooses not to get involved, reasoning that eventually the bullies will grow up and leave poor Alex alone. Let nature take its course. No need to get involved.

In the call to begin, Mr. Dobberfuhl refers to last week's discussion and rehashes some of the points his students had made. He then promises to "poke some holes in this theory."

But it isn't Mr. Dobberfuhl who does the hole poking. The first student he calls on--we'll call him Kevin--is adamant: Charles definitely should get involved. His cousin Alex will get hurt while he lets nature take its course. That's not right.

Mr. Dobberfulh: But doesn't that contradict what you said last week, Kevin?

Kevin: No.

Mr. Dobberfuhl: Weren't you saying last week that you wouldn't get involved if your friend was cheating even though he was being hurt by this bad habit?

Kevin: No! I never said that!

Kevin's sheepish smile and the laughter of the Barnard homeroom reveal that Kevin was, in fact, one of the leading conscientious objectors last week.

There are twenty plus hands still up, waving. Mr. Dobberfuhl calls on Myra.

Myra: Charles should definitely get involved. It might go badly if he does, but if he doesn't he might get in trouble for not standing up for his cousin.

Mr. Dobberfuhl: So you would only get involved to avoid punishment?

Myra: No. That's not what I mean.

Mr. Dobberfuhl: Then what do you mean?

Myra: Charles' family would want him to stand up for his cousin.

Nolan: Yeah, if it's my family then I would definitely get involved.

Mr. Dobberfuhl: So now you're saying you would get involved?

He feigns a puzzled look.

Nearly every hand is up, but Mr. Dobberfuhl leaves them wanting more and transitions to today's reading on Harriet Tubman. There is a sense that this discussion is far from over.

Mr. Dobberfuhl resisted the soap-box urge in this instance. He knew that the students would make his point for him if he was able to draw it out of them with the right line of questioning (and perhaps a scenario they could relate to more easily). A science teacher by day, Mr. Dobberfuhl is very familiar with this kind of pedagogy. It would be fascinating to gather the data, but I would bet that 90% of what Mr. Dobberfuhl says during a typical class--ethics or science--is in the form of a question.

Socrates saw himself as a midwife, helping his students give birth to the truth. Like Socrates, Mr. Dobberfuhl, prefers to draw the truth out of his students rather than deliver it to them. He lets the students do the intellectual heavy lifting. The hard-won idea, the idea that the student has pieced together herself--her idea--is going to be more compelling to her than Mr. Dobberfuhl's.

There is a risk, though. They say good trial lawyers never ask a question unless they know exactly how the witness will answer it. The same holds for cross examining your students in Ethics Class. Going Socratic can backfire if you do not have a handle on how your students will approach a particular scenario or issue. Or, if you do not ask the right questions. In this case, a student's own hard-won idea, the one that is most compelling, then grows in opposition to yours. The student leaves the discussion with a greater sense of conviction, but maybe not in the direction you'd like. Maybe the student leaves the discussion about "getting involved" with a greater appreciation for her original notion of "mind your own business."

But Mr. Dobberfuhl has been at this long enough to know what questions to ask and how his students will typically answer them. And he's got a pretty good soap box tucked away in case he needs to drag it out.

Santos Sets New Mark for Single-Class CPM

Seventh grade Ethics teacher Fernando Santos shattered his own single-session record this morning, setting the new mark at an astounding 7.3 connections per minute (CPM).

Since the connections per minute statistic came into general use among educators during the early 1970s, no teacher has ever been able break the 7.0 barrier until today. Santos came close in 2008, posting an inspiring 6.8 CPM during a seventh grade History class about Egypt, a BPCPS record at the time and a mark which has stood until this morning.

Connections per minute refers to the number of connections the teacher makes to the personal experiences of students, to events in the life of the school, to current events outside the school, to the teacher's own life experience--in short, connections to anything compelling and familiar to students--during a typical minute of instruction.

Today, I observed Mr. Santos make the following connections while leading his advisory through the dialogue that introduced the seventh grade maxim for courage: get involved!

• A connection to one advisee's proudly displayed mohawk (getting involved often means doing what others are afraid to do and what might make you stick out)
• Tattoos (similar to the mohawk)
• A connection to superheroes (we like to imagine people who will intervene and protect the rest of us from crimes and other dangers)
• A stabbing over the weekend in Jamaica Plain (witnesses were reluctant to come forward with information)

Mr. Santos made these connections in fairly quick succession while students were reading today's text out loud. He allowed a very brief window for students to respond. Every hand was up, every student had a story to share. Mr. Santos gave everyone a few seconds of air time and then continued with the reading. The whole exchange lasted no more than two minutes (okay, so the 7.3 CPM is an exaggeration).

The point is that Mr. Santos, using only a few minutes of instruction, was able to connect the maxim for courage to something that he knew would be of interest specifically to the students who were in front of him. He knows his students, he knows what's happening in their lives--not necessarily in the lives of seventh graders generally but in the lives of those six particular seventh graders sitting at the Cafetorium table with him. He used this knowledge, and some impressive improv skills, to make the connection between something that might not yet seem relevant to his students, like the maxim for courage, to something that definitely is, like the mohawk. You can't put this stuff in a lesson plan.

In August, we talked about making Ethics instruction more immediately relevant to the lives of our students. Cranking up the CPM can certainly help in this effort.

Harris and Harbour Bring Text Alive

As compelling as Jackie Robinson's story might be, if students don't understand the text well enough, or if they fail to imagine vividly enough the trials of a young African-American baseball player breaking the Major League Baseball color barrier in the late 1940s, they will not identify with Robinson as a hero, or be inspired to discuss his struggle in much depth, and they will not be willing to look in the mirror and ask themselves if they have the strength of character to maintain focus and respect when they face similar adversity in their own lives.

Sixth grade Ethics teachers VaLonda Harris and Justin Harbour understand the importance of successful reading as a precursor to a fruitful discussion and effective Ethics lesson overall. This morning, I observed the effort and energy that each of them put into today's sixth grade Ethics reading.

While his students read aloud, Mr. Harbour paused frequently to check for understanding, showing patience and persistence in ensuring that every last student was following every last word of the text. In order to make certain his students were reading the text silently along with the out-loud reader, he broke the reading up unpredictably and called on different students to read--sometimes even changing readers in mid-sentence. You had to follow along with the group or you would not know where to pick up reading aloud if Mr. Harbour called on you.

There were the usual pre-prepared comprehension questions build into the reading, and Mr. Harbour addressed all of these with his students, but Mr. Harbour also went well beyond these questions to attack potential areas of confusion that the author of the lesson may not have anticipated. For example the word "segregated" appeared early in the text, and the concept of segregation played a pivotal role in the meaning of the text. While it is likely that many 6th grade students do know the meaning of "segregation," Mr. Harbour was not comfortable with the assumption that everyone in the room would know. So, taking at most two minutes, he very quickly led a couple of students to explain "segregation" and asked for its antonym (which would appear later in the text). A student was able to supply "integration" and an example. But it was clear during this brief micro lesson that there were students who did not understand the terms accurately. It would have been very difficult for them to get the full impact of the text, to appreciate the work of Jackie Robinson, and to contribute productively to the discussion that came after the reading.

Once you can be sure that all of your students know what all the words mean, there is still the work of effectively engaging their imagination, to get them to feel what Jackie Robinson must have felt.

Ms. Harris interrupted the text from time to time, not only to check for understanding, but to check for appropriate engagement with the text. The text read, "...but through it all, Jackie Robinson never lost his cool."

"He never lost his cool," Ms. Harris repeated and let the words sink in a bit. Then, she helped her students conjure the scene in their minds. "Imagine what that must have been like... Imagine being called every racist insult you've ever heard--even by your own teammates--imagine opposing players sliding into you with their spikes up, cutting into your leg, the umpire calling you out when you are safe stealing second by a mile, the fans throwing their trash at you, screaming insults at you, booing you... And you are able to keep your cool, brush yourself off, and focus on what you need to do, focus on your job..."

Now the students got it. Now they understood the story.

Every week, middle school teachers at Boston Prep are handed a plan and a pile of materials for an Ethics lesson. A bunch of papers with a bunch of words. But it's the singer, not the song. It's what the teacher does with the words on the page that really matters.

Shuman Pushes for Honesty, Holds His Ground

I had the pleasure of observing Matt Shuman's 8th grade Ethics class yesterday during a particularly risky lesson focusing on anti-gay bullying in schools. The students read a piece about Jamie Nabozny who was brutally harassed and bullied in middle school and high school and who now tours the country speaking about his experiences and advising schools and other organizations.

Mr. Shuman had clearly established a culture within his advisory that allows students to feel safe expressing honest opinions and asking sincere questions related to highly charged issues. One student--we'll call him Darryl--proposed that perhaps Jamie Nabozny had brought the harassment upon himself.

"If nobody knew he was gay, then he wouldn't have been bullied like that. Maybe if he wasn't so out in the open about it and just minded his own business, then people would leave him alone."

I was certainly tempted to call the foul: "That's blaming the victim! You can't blame the victim!" But, as an observer and not the teacher in this case, I suppressed the urge as well as I could.

Mr. Shuman didn't call the foul either. "That's an interesting point, Darryl." And then he turned to another student--we'll call her Julianna--whose hand had shot right up in response to Darryl.

"He shouldn't have to pretend he's something that he isn't!" Julianna protested. "He should just be able to be who he is."

There followed a lively discussion, which Mr. Shuman brought to a close with an analogy of his own.

"Here's the way I think about it," he began. "Javonne is Haitian, right?" He nodded towards Javonne who proudly displayed a Haiti wristband. A round of snaps followed, indicating enthusiastic solidarity from many in the group.

"Should Javonne stop being so Haitian?"

No, of course not, seemed to be the consensus. Even Darryl had to agree that Javonne had the right to be openly Haitian without fear of harassment.

"It might be easier for you to identify with being Haitian than being gay," Mr. Shuman acknowledged. "But it's really the same issue, right? There's something wrong if you have to hide who you are to avoid being beaten."

Darryl got it. The other students got it.

In this discussion, Mr. Shuman allowed himself a small but very effective soapbox moment. The timing of it was crucial. Had he chosen to shut Darryl down initially, he would have sent the message that the teacher's opinion is the only one that really matters. Students then feel pressure to say only what they think Mr. Shuman wants to hear. Or, Ethics Class becomes a weekly battleground, Mr. Shuman vs. his advisory. Either way, there is little potential for learning.

It was important that Mr. Shuman allowed Darryl to air his thoughts. It was equally important that Mr. Shuman aired his own. He wasn't contentious about it--"Here's the way I think about it..."--but he was clear about his conviction. Our students need us to weigh in, to reveal and justify our ethical beliefs, and to model adult ways of approaching difficult ethical problems. They need us to listen, but they also need us to lead.

Ethics Concepts Taught So Far

In the Ethics Class Now section to the right, under the update for each grade level is a link to all of the concepts taught in Ethics Class up to this point in the school year.

If you're wondering what students have covered so far this year in Ethics Class, just hit the link to Concepts taught so far.

Sept. 13 Middle School Ethics Materials Now Ready for Pick-Up

Everything is on the Ethics Shelves outside the UFR. Remember that tomorrow's lesson will yield the first discussion grade and the first homework grade. Rubrics for both are included in the materials.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Middle School Orientation Ethics Materials Are Ready for Pick-Up

All materials for the week are printed and organized on the Ethics Shelves outside the UFR. Let me know if there are any issues.

Welcome to the BPCPS Ethics Blog!

This blog houses everything related to Ethics instruction at Boston Prep, from standards and curriculum  to lesson plans, lesson materials, and the cases students read. If you are a middle school advisor curious about the next unit you will be teaching in Ethics Class, it's all right here. If you are a high school teacher wondering what students are learning in Ethics Class this week, it's all right here. Rather than sorting through hundreds of emails in your in-box, you can come to one central location for everything you need to be an effective teacher of the Five Key Virtues.

I have posted all of the lesson plans and materials for middle school student orientation:

• 6th grade: to view the lessons for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, follow the link to the right, under "Ethics Class Now" and "6th Grade" or just click here.
• 7th grade: to view the lessons for Wednesday and Thursday, follow the link to the right, under "Ethics Class Now" and "7th Grade" or just click here.
• 8th grade: to view the lessons for Thursday and Friday, follow the link to the right, under "Ethics Class Now" and "8th Grade" or just click here.

Photocopies of all of these materials will be available for you and your students by Monday night on the "Ethics Shelves" outside the UFR.

Please email me with any questions.