GCS Training Session Inspires Educational Synergy

The past two days, I attended a "Foundations of Cooperative Learning" workshop at the Guilford County Schools' Washington Street Annex (across the street from Weaver Center). The workshop is required for all Mission Possible teachers, and since I decided in April to teach English at High Point Central High School for the 2008-2009 school year, I now fall into that category.

After teaching for 12 years, I've now attended my fair share of workshops, some great, some so-so, and some not-so-great. There are several variables that come into play, but two big factors in determining the quality of a workshop are the presenter(s) and the participants. People matter, and we can't help but be affected by them, for better and for worse. A poorly prepared, disrespectful presenter or even just one participant with a poor attitude can negatively affect a workshop and ultimately leave a bad taste in the mouth. A well-prepared, sincere presenter and enthusiastic, ready-to-be-actively-engaged participants can leave you feeling refreshed and encouraged about teaching.

I thoroughly respected, enjoyed, and appreciated both the presenter and the participants whose company I shared the last two days. The workshop was an all-around great experience that was well-worth our time. Our students will benefit if we take back into our classrooms what we experienced and learned through this session.

I finally met Randy Shiflett. (Randy has a superior first name, but a teacher long ago ruined it for him, and like other teachers with whom Randy has shared his secret name, I'm sworn to secrecy. I'll just say that I'm a HUGE fan of that name that Randy can't stand.) I had heard his name before and had heard positive things about him, but I had never attended one of his workshops before. He did a great job, and my impression was that all of my fellow participants felt the same way. During our time with him, Mr. Shiflett provided us a wealth of information, but even more crucially, he engaged us in the very process that we are being encouraged to use with our students: cooperative learning. And throughout, Mr. Shiflett modeled for us as well as any model could ever hope to model.

At some point today, Mr. Shiflett took the time to play a brief video clip for us from a movie I'd seen before, "In Good Company." I'd forgotten the scene, but it was one that fit perfectly within the scheme of our workshop. A recently hired boss who is younger than most of the men and women he supervises stands in front of his employees, trying to inspire them to do and be more. He enthusiastically preaches about the virtues of corporate synergy. But he's speaking to people who are not so eager to embrace his enthusiasm, possessing a rather synergy-inhibiting spirit from the get-go. The young boss pushes forward anyway, seemingly oblivious to any resistance or negativity. And slowly but surely, even though perhaps not completely sincere, his employees give in a little, showing signs that they might actually be willing to follow.

By the time he shared the video clip with us, Mr. Shiflett had already synergized us. By cooperatively learning about cooperative learning, we had developed positive relationships with one another, and our entire class of teacher-students benefited from that. As a diverse group of educators, we were openminded to the possibility of a positive learning experience during our summer vacation, and Mr. Shiflett helped ensure that by providing us a comfortable, welcoming environment.

It makes sense that that is also part of our challenge as educators: we have to figure out ways to help create and develop synergy in our classrooms. I've been lucky to have taught some classes that developed beautiful synergy, and I've had other classes that, at best, had momentary glimpses of something remotely resembling synergy. It's not an automatic given, and sometimes, even our most sincere efforts can't guarantee that synergy will develop.

Mr. Shiflett had a positive effect on us teachers as learners. His more profound effect may come by way of the trickle-down effect that will occur if we're able to transfer his positive energy and at least some of what he taught us into our own classrooms. That would be the ideal hope for any meaningful training for teachers.

Obama Cartoon Takes Me Back to 1990

This cartoon controversy reminds me of one that visited Page High School during my senior year (1989-90). I wish I had a copy of the cartoon, but at least the News & Record archives reminded me of some of the details.

"The student walkout came after a cartoon appeared in the school newspaper depicting a black student wearing a basketball uniform and holding a watermelon and a chicken leg. The cartoon also depicted stereotypical images of an Asian and a Hispanic student." (I had forgotten that there had been a student walkout.)

If memory serves me, that description captures the first three frames of a four-frame cartoon. In the fourth frame, I believe a teenager expressed something like, "Do you actually know anyone like this?" The intended message was that stereotyping is not a positive thing to do, but many individuals chose to interpret it differently. You could say that that was because high school students were involved. But that doesn't account for reactions to the New Yorker's cartoon.

In both cases, sensitivity is probably greater because we know that there are individuals out there who do see things almost precisely as illustrated in the cartoons. Some of us don't care to be reminded of that.

When I became a freshman at UNC-Chapel Hill, another stereotype-based controversy erupted because of a new statue that I believe was called "The Student Body." It included about five or six students in different poses. The one who appeared to be an African-American male had one finger up, balancing a basketball. There was also a couple, with the male holding a book and the female leaning into him. (I think she might have been holding an apple.) And there was an African-American woman with several books balanced on her head. Ancient history, but I believe that statue is still there, minus at least the basketball scholar--someone kept knocking the ball off his finger. (As an additional sidenote and reminder of how twisted politics can be, that same year, the KKK endorsed Harvey Gantt, hoping that he'd win, serve horribly, and forever ensure that no other blacks would ever be elected again--I believe that was KKK members' expressed logic. And NORML--the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws--endorsed Jesse Helms, believing his pro-tobacco views gave them some sort of shot at gaining his support for marijuana legalization.)

Hardy's Anime

For several of the 32 area high-school students traveling with us through the People to People Student Ambassador Program, Japan represented a dream destination, in part because of their love for Japanese anime and manga. We adults on the trip were less familiar with these artforms, but we too partipated in an anime seminar on our second day in Tokyo, where our journey began.

After some discussion and demonstrations on a dry-erase board, we each were provided a chin-and-nose template and markers on which to create our own anime character. As a non-artist, I was unsure of myself and intimidated by the assignment, but ultimately, I jumped in and produced my own creation.



One of the other adults told me that my creation reminded him of the Joker. I still haven't come up with a name for my character, so if you have any suggestions, please let me know.

Mouths Wide Open in Japan

As I prepared to enter a store in Japan, I saw a nest of baby birds above what I believe was a light fixture. Not long after I first saw them, the mother bird flew over, and the babies' mouths excitedly flew open as they anticipated receiving food.

My camera wasn't ready to capture that moment, but hoping for a second chance, I waited with camera ready and was lucky enough to witness an encore performance soon after.

That experience was one of many pleasures while visiting Japan for two weeks with thirty-two high school students and three fellow adult leaders.