Teaching Elementary, My Dear Watson

25 - Dreaming History

25

Dreaming History

Monday-Friday, January 9-13

The girls won both games on Monday and Thursday. The boys lost their game on Tuesday and played Mountain View for their rematch on Friday, this time at Valle Grande. The day was cool, the sky cloudy, but the sun peeked through like it was sending a ray of hope. Their opponents had won last time, 30-12. They were tall, with two boys about 5' 10".

Kevin's team was just the opposite. His starting guard was Joe Murphy, all 4' 4" of him, the shortest boy in the sixth grade. Everyone called him "Little Joe", after a character in the Western TV series, Bonanza. He wasn't fast, but he could dribble and pass better than anyone else on the team, and no one tried harder. Sometimes Kevin felt his pain when one of Joe's shots got blocked, or when faster opponents chased him down from behind, but Little Joe and the other kids stayed upbeat.

Valle Grande came out with enthusiasm, playing good position defense. Mountain View scored but had to work for it. Midway through the game, the Eagles only trailed 10-6. Little Joe cheered them on during halftime, encouraging his teammates. It didn't make much difference. Pygmies don't often defeat Zulus. But the final score, 22-14, was much better than at their first meeting, and the kids knew it. Little Joe gave each teammate a high five, and all responded enthusiastically.

Amazing. The team lost every game and none was that close, but they know they have improved and feel good about it. I'm privileged to be their coach.

*****

In the classroom, speed math was a hit. Kevin made sure to communicate with each student when he or she had improved compared to the prior week, and everyone in the class had progressed on at least one of the four arithmetic tests. Early Friday afternoon, he gave them a little long division practice and was gratified that they seemed better able to remember the six steps, using the silly memory trick with the acronym PEMSCB.

Forget Smith's boring example!

So if they could follow the process, speed math improved their accuracy, since long division used much arithmetic. More complex and larger problems became easier.

*****

Later on Friday, an hour before the school day was over, Kevin got his students' attention and asked, "Sunday is someone's birthday. Anyone knows whose?"

"Is it your 100th birthday, Mr. Watson?"
"Funny, John. You may stay after school until sunrise on Sunday." John laughed. "It's the day Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in 1929. If he hadn't died in 1968, he would be turning 49. I have a book about him, with some relevant pictures. I want to both show and tell you part of his story. You may know some things about this great man. He is one of my heroes and I'd like you to understand why. I believe that people should be judged by how they act, not by how they look or the color of their skin. He lived his life to promote greater equality and brotherhood among us all. The world is better off for his having been here. Who can tell me something about him already?"

Kevin wrote down what they shared on the board. They knew King was black, that he had been murdered, and that he had a dream. Kevin read some from the book to fill in a little more about his life. In the end, he finished by telling the kids about the march on Washington in 1963. "Its purpose was for more jobs and freedom for blacks, but King made it even more famous by reaching for equality. You know he gave a famous speech. It was long, so I won't read all of it, but some parts are memorable."

I may not be much of an actor but King was inspiring. Now, where is the quote? Oh, it's on my desk.

Kevin grabbed it, began to feel emotion welling up within, then he read several memorable sections: