A Former Educator's Trip Down Memory Lane

For the students in SAU 58, where I was a superintendent for 8 years, an elementary principal for 5, a school board member for 8, and a student for 13 - this is the first day of school. It has felt very strange for me not to have anything to do attached to education on the first day of school. So I thought I would take a few minutes and stroll down memory lane a bit. While there a few potholes and too many missing chunks, I wanted to capture my thoughts before it all disappears.

I've spent most of my adult life as an educator - first as a middle school classroom teacher and then as an administrator. I've had lots of different roles and many years in education, but I would have to say my favorite time was as a teacher. My biggest regret is that I did not spend more years in the classroom before I made the move to administration. 

I loved working with middle school kids because they could still be excited about learning and could have fun. Sometime I had to drag them to the fun and actively "persuade" them to enjoy themselves while we were learning something new, but we almost always made it there in the end. That's when I knew I had done something meaningful. 

The most sheer joy I ever had as a teacher was the year I taught 6th grade ELA/Social Studies/Health at Colebrook Elementary School. Not only were the students fun and the learning exciting, but I was learning along with them. I was certified in VT in both Middle School ELA and Social Studies, but NH did not have those same designations at the time. So I was actually considered an elementary teacher - something I had never aspired to nor did I think I would be any good at doing. If I had it to do all over again, I believe I would have gotten my certification in elementary education. 

I remember convincing my teaching partner - against his better judgment - to take the class on a field trip to Montreal to the Biome and the Incline Tower.  We rented a coach bus for the trip, and the kids were so excited. I no longer remember any particular details about that trip, but I do remember their excitement and their wonder at being in another country (some of them had never been out of the area much less a foreign country even though it was so close) and seeing and experiencing so many new things. 

My time in Colebrook only lasted a year because I was on an alternative certification plan for elementary education, and it seemed like such a daunting task at the time. I sadly left Colebrook and took a teaching position at the Lancaster School (PreK-8) as the 8th grade Social Studies teacher.  It was closer to my home and was within my certification area.  The school had an outstanding reputation, and I was looking forward to the new challenge.

The position became available for a number of reasons, but the principal at the time wanted to make some changes to the middle school and have all four subjects taught individually. Prior to that there were three content areas (Math, Science, Social Studies) and each teacher taught ELA to their own homeroom. The incoming 8th grade had 100 students, and was not known for being an easy class, so the decision was made to have four teachers that year - one for each content area. Several of the 8th grade teachers decided to leave that year, so that created the opening I applied for. 

While that was probably the most challenging year I had in teaching, it was by far the most rewarding. We had a completely new team of teachers, which made it difficult for the students and for us as we tried to adjust to the school, the culture, the content, and most importantly the students.

I quickly got the impression that the class had had a rough time coming up primarily because it was such a large group. There were some significant behavioral and educational challenges with so many of them; it was a constant struggle to create positive relationships, maintain classroom management, provide interesting and fun learning opportunities, and keep my sanity.

I think because we were all fairly new, and I was a bit of a strong personality, we tried to do things differently and explore new ideas. From my time in Colebrook, I had experienced some team building with a ropes course. Given what I knew and could understand about the class dynamics, and the fact that all of us were new to one another, I thought that perhaps if we all participated in the ropes course as a class it would help to start building those all important relationships. 

My idea was not well received at first by the administration given the reputation and history of the class, but they reluctantly agreed to let us try. Some of my teaching partners weren't too jazzed about the idea either, but the strong personality thing eventually won them over. 

I remember there was some general awkwardness to begin with, as all of us teachers were new to the students, but the camp's facilitators were amazing and soon we were off. We only did the "low ropes" course, which required much less equipment  and (thankfully for me) much less liability. We did do one activity, however, that I do still remember quite vividly. Each student was tied into a harness, and then the rest of the group pulled them high into the air using a pulley system next to a towering pine tree. Some of the students were reluctant at first, especially those with some fear of heights, but everyone in my group participated. They then wanted me to go up...I can still remember thinking - "oh no, they're going to drop me". Let's face it, I'm not a small guy and my group was made up of both boys and girls. The facilitator was very strong, however, so I decided to give it a try - never thinking that they would be able to life me to the top. I was surprised and pleased that the kids worked so hard to hoist my up there, and they had some fun picking on me a bit at the same time.

I firmly believe that day at the ropes course in the early days of our school year helped to set the foundation of trust and relationship that we could build on for the rest of the year. I was so proud of how the students reacted and behaved throughout the day - and I think we as teachers gained some respect from them for showing our own vulnerabilities and willingness to experience everything the students did.

We created and implemented several interdisciplinary units that year, starting with holiday traditions around the world. My content area was World History & Cultures (not because it was really appropriate for 8th grade social studies, but because it was what my predecessor liked to teach), so that seemed like a good foundation to work from. 

Our whole team worked on the unit, doing our best to integrate all the content areas into this unit in order to make it more cohesive and enjoyable. I remember my homeroom focused on Chinese New Year and built a dragon that the students could manipulate. Each homeroom focused on a different culture, complete with the history and traditions along with the food and decorations.

Against everyone's advice, I convinced my team and the administration to take them on a field trip to Strawberry Banke for their Christmas exhibit in order to better understand New England seasonal traditions. We rented a coach bus, which was such a new experience for them. I remember bits of that trip, but mostly the excitement I saw and feeling the gratitude of the students and their families that we were actually taking them somewhere.

We did other units, including a unit that the ELA teacher and I worked on together focusing on conflicts.  Her grandfather had served in WWII and he came in to speak to the students. We had 100 students in a double classroom, and for 45 minutes you could have heard a pin drop. I was never so proud of a group of students as I was that day.

I convinced my colleagues to do another interdisciplinary unit toward the end of the year - a Greek unit. I found a simulation that I used to help teach the history and culture of Ancient Greece, the math teacher focused on Greek math as a foundation for algebra, the science teacher focused on physics and helped the students from each city-state build a life-size chariot, and the English teacher focused on Greek literature. The Art teacher had the students work on Greek art, the Family Consumer Science teacher helped the students to create Greek food, and the Tech teacher helped them with the design and construction of their chariots.

The whole experience culminated in our version of the Greek Olympics. There was Greek food and drink and many activities to test their knowledge and skills. Each student was asked to create and wear a chiton (the Greek form of a toga) the day of the Olympics. out of a class of 100 only one student refused to bring and wear one, but as soon as he saw that ALL his classmates (including all the "cool" kids) were wearing one, he came to me in a panic. We found him a sheet and made one on the spot for him, and he was the happiest kid of the day.

We had many physical games throughout the day, thanks to the PE teacher who had gotten into the spirit of the event as well. The highlight of the event was the chariot races and the tug of war, pitting each Greek city-state against the others. Again, I don't remember any of the details anymore of the day itself, but I still have former students who do - which makes me feel just as good, if not better.

The biggest challenge I had of the year, however, was in convincing my teaching partners and the administration to allow us to take the 8th graders on an overnight trip to Maine so they could experience white water rafting. The students had not been on many field trips or fun excursions over their time at the Lancaster School, and I wanted them to have a positive experience and memory to take with them when they left us to go to the high school.

What an adventure!! We stayed for two nights and two days, with one of the days on the water.  I remember being so pleased at the number of parent chaperones who wanted to come with us, especially the fathers. We set up the boy's camp and the girl's camp - and my tent was set up on the dividing line next to the "No Man's Land" zone we had set up. It still makes me laugh to think about it.

Unfortunately, I don't remember much about the trip except the drive over with some of the students in my car and laughing about their choice of music. The only thing I remember about the rafting trip down the river itself was my being in the front scared out of my mind that I was going to fall in and working my butt off to paddle. I know we all made it and that there were no injuries because I wasn't fired or sued. 

That year was such a blast in so many ways, even though it was challenging and the students did give me many new gray hairs. I hope I helped to make a difference for that group of students - I know they did for me.

I'll wrap up this little jaunt down memory lane the way I started. I wish I had stayed in the classroom longer before I went into administration. I know my work as building and district level administrator was important and necessary, and I hope that I made a positive impact there as well, but nothing compares to my time in the classroom.