Two weeks ago, I went to see Pearl Jam, a band I had long admired, but never seen live. From a friend who has seen them many times (4 times that week, in fact), I had heard that they have a certain je ne sais quoi, an indescribable appeal unlike any other band she had ever seen. I remained skeptical. I have been to my share of concerts, and I couldn’t imagine that they would be much different from other bands of similar genres.
This particular show was at The Spectrum in Philadelphia–the legendary, but archaic stadium that was home to the Flyers and the Sixers . The Pearl Jam crowd were its last guests before its scheduled demolition. My seat was 14 rows behind the stage, so I had a great view of the back of Eddie Vedder’s head, but I was still immediately impressed by the fact that my view was not completely blocked by enormous screens and light show paraphernalia. Those gadgets were surprisingly absent; the focus of attention was on the band and their instruments. In fact, I felt very much a part of the show. Eddie and guitarist Jeff Ament frequently turned around, acknowledged those of us in the back, and even walked to the back of the stage to play to us a few times.
My friend was right; Pearl Jam was putting on a good show, and despite the bearded, high-fiver next to me, I was enjoying the whole experience. In fact, the fan’s enthusiasm was contagious, and even though I didn’t know every word to every song, I was moved by the music. Then, about half-way through the show, I heard that unmistakable opening guitar riff of “Alive,” my favorite Pearl Jam song. The Spectrum erupted, and all of the lights went on.
We were all exposed. I saw the looks on people’s faces in the front rows, and I saw everyone’s outstretched hands. I saw what my friend Andrea later described as a great energy surging through the tens of thousands of people in attendance. No one was talking, but everyone was singing, as if entranced by the music. We were the show. This screaming, swaying, unified mass was it–the indescribable factor, what I could never put into accurate words here. That is what Eddie Vedder sees when he looks into the crowd, I thought. The lights remained on for the rest of the show and the audience continued to be the focus, not the band we had initially walked into the stadium for. We all felt part of some larger vitality than what we could have ever felt alone.
Looking back on that experience now, I wonder how often we let our students feel that energized, that simultaneously powerful and connected. How often do we let them run with the lessons we teach?
Often times I think we get caught up in the stuff of education. As many musicians’ talents are lost among flashing lights and video backdrops, I fear that some educators allow knowledge, creativity, and curiosity to be overshadowed by the jazz hands and spirit fingers of technology in the classroom, just as learning has traditionally come second to covering content and prepping for standardized tests. Instead of getting caught up in that trap, we need to consider how we can best use technological tools not just for the sake of using them, but to illuminate our students’ learning and expose them to the potential global resources at their fingertips, maybe even help them create their own PLNs to continue their learning outside of our classes.
Additionally, we need to allow our kids to become part of the show–to see the lesson as a teacher does. And, we need to allow ourselves to see a class as a student does. How often do we work together to create the learning process, refine objectives, teach each other? How often do we allow students to question what we do and the approaches through which they gain understanding? Too often in my own class, I’ve felt the urge to move on, to get to the next skill or prep for the next standardized test, rather than allow the students to enjoy what we can all accomplish and develop their enthusiasm further. And, I rarely get a chance to stand back and watch the looks on their faces when they work together to create something new.
So, now I have to figure out how to make that happen in my class. I took the first step this week by conferencing with my kids. We talked about their perceptions of class, what they can do to improve, and how they think I can help them learn. Their comments were enlightening. They spoke about motivation, reflection, reading, writing, group work, and technology. We all set goals for improvement, and we made plans to accomplish them. My charge now is to research and better implement differentiated instruction through reading and writing workshops. As we begin a new marking period on Monday, I am determined to enliven my students and get them to see their learning as something they can take responsibility for.
Anyone out there who is experiencing a lot of success with reading and writing workshops or differentiated instruction/assessment, I would love to hear about your successes and struggles and about your methods for accountability and equity.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Heather Hersey and Cathy Stutzman, Mrs D. Mrs D said: RT @Stutz01 New blog post:From the Other Side of the Spectrum (http://tinyurl.com/yd9fx33). From Pearl Jam to differentiated instruction [...]
I agree with the premise of this article, but exuberance is hard to control at times. It needs to be purposeful.
My undergrad advisor once told our class that “we are not just teachers we are entertainers.” I think we must be able to entertain our students to keep their attention. I have discovered that my middle school students love hearing stories. I am going to try to utilize that that fact and use that as a strategy in that class.
I, too, am guilty of “teaching the text” because of time restraints and material that needs to be covered. My students become most excited when their learning is brain-based and makes connections to their world. Your insight has given me a boost and many things to consider as we start a new semester. I think I’ll pull out my brain based workshop materials and start connecting more of the information in my curriculum across genres, again. Thematic learning in the elem. grades is a great experience. It takes time to get all the skill work embedded in the theme, but it is worth it.
I think that much of my work is allowing the students to think about the lesson I have taught and apply it in their daily lives. I teach a principal and then ask them to either act out the way it fits into their weekly activities and do a role play or make up a puppet play to demonstrate their learning.
I hope they are discovering how their learning is useful in everyday living. I try to teach lessons that will meet a felt need in their lives.
My undergrad advisor once told our class that “we are more than teachers, we are entertainers.” You have to be an entertainer and keep the students actively engaged in your lesson. I have discovered that my middle school students love hearing stories. I am going to try to use this as a teaching strategy for that class.
It would be nice to have students excited about learning and having time to investigate the learning but there is always the time frame factor and the teaching that needs to be done for ITBS. I agree with Mrs. Hoskins, it still needs to be purposeful and under control.
I think you are on the right track. I myself have found struggles in getting the kids excited and wanting to take control of their learning. I think we as teachers need to develop this at different levels not just at the college level we need to bring this joy of learning to all students.
I would be interested in what my students would say if I sat them down and asked them what they thought about their class.
I continue to struggle with a balance between allowing the children to ‘go with a subject of interest’ and moving along to the next topic or subject. They can be so enthusiastic, yet I feel I need to keep moving along . . .
I am with all of you. I want my students to be motivated and enjoy coming to class. That secret formula though needs to be there for learning to take place. Discipline can go both ways, if the student is learning they are behaving, but with too much unstructure and some students can’t handle that. I want to find that fine line. Your concert makes me think about those entertainers throughout the years that don’t need lights and tricks. Their ability to entertain stays constant.
I’m afraid that it saddens me a little bit to think of how hard a teacher has to work to make a student feel entertained. My 4 year old great niece says she asks questions because she wants to know stuff. I guess I wish more of my students just wanted to know stuff….
Professors have told me that we live in a world where our students are constantly being entertained and if we are to compete for their attention and interest, we must also grab their attention and entertain and live in their world today to be successful.
I am excited when I see the student’s are excited. It takes a special moment in teaching for that to happen and I would like it to happen more.
I agree with what was said in the article. I think that it is very important to get kids excited about learning. Times are moving so fast and it is important to keep up. I think that technology is a huge part of life today and we need to get kids on board. There are many different learning styles and it is important to learn from all of them.
It would be great to have students that excited to come see me everyday.
There are times when the atmosphere that is witnessed while walking by my room may seem chaotic, crazy, and even uncontrolled at times, however, there is also no greater feeling than students taking part in their own learning, students excited about learning, students who will remember a learning experience because they were involved. Enjoy.
Everyone has had a few experiences where the children were completely involved with their learning. The problem is involving everyone more often. It’s wonderful to see children enthused about learning and participating. Of course, real learning is taking place at this time.
I agree. Finding that balance when the student’s curiosity and enthusiam for a topic meets the content that we are requirec to teach is the art of teaching. If any of us finds the perfect teaching method where we can create curiosity and enthusiam in every student we can write a book and get rich!
I agree with the article. My students get lots of choices and have imput in what they will produce in art and also what they get to cook.
It is still important to keep the learing in the enthusiam, so
kids don’t get carried away. This kind of teaching may prevent teacher burn out, however.