By Klorraine in , , , , , on 9:03 AM with 1 comment
I REALLY want to be that crazy English teacher. It's one of my life goals to get consistent looks of exasperation from my students. I don't anger easily and I don't respond to subtle forms of distraction. Actually, quite the opposite, I react to them.

For example, when I did one of my practicums we had a group discussion. The class was split to either side  and I took one half and the actual 8th grade teacher took the other side. I started out with basic questions about plot. Then we moved into the real questions. We were reading Night by Elie Weisel.

"Ms? Why didn't they just leave when the Nazi's moved into town?"
"Yeah, they knew they were dangerous."
"My family and I would have been three shades of gone."

I listened to them all start to agree.

"Well," I started. They all lapsed into silence. "This is assuming that we all know the ending. These people didn't."

A few nodded, some looked confused, and others were set in their convictions.

"Okay. Story time kiddos. I work in a kitchen in a restaurant, and I've learned a lot of fun ways to cook things. I had Lobster explained to me. Does anyone know how to cook a lobster?"

One girl raised her hand, but still looked lost at the comparison I was trying to make.


"Lobsters are cooked alive." A few gasps from some of the group. "In order to not have them freak out, you start them off in cold water and slowly bring the pot to a boil. Even as the water gets hotter and hotter, the lobster won't move because it isn't aware of what is happening. Now, in the terms of the Nazi's and the Jewish, who is the lobster and who is the cook?"

There was mass amounts of dawning comprehension and they were all too stunned to speak. I couldn't decide whether I'd traumatized them with the idea of killing a lobster or the idea of the Nazi's killing the Jews.

Finally, one girl goes, "Poor lobster."

Chaos ensued as people argued about lobster, life and death, and the humane way to kill a lobster/Jew. I was able to steer the conversation into the Jews being slowly cooked. We discussed whether they would be aware that they were being cooked. At what point? We talked about the idea of teachers walking in there, gathering you all up and saying they were taking you somewhere safe. Most of them said they would have gone because they were teachers and they were trusted figures of authority. Some said that they would refuse to go.

Overall, it was an amazing discussion and the other half of the class couldn't figure out why we were having this great debate about lobster. I was later pulled aside by my teacher and asked what we discussed and why it got them in such an uproar.

"I told them how to cook a lobster because many of them couldn't understand why the Jews didn't just leave when the Nazi's rolled into town. They started off with cold water and slowly increased the heat."

She nodded her head. "That's a really good comparison; I never thought about that."

Needless to say, I'm not a teacher that requires a deadly quiet classroom. I am not opposed to the expression of opinion. I have the ability to wade into a sea of chaos and come out the other side without a scratch. I am not of the opinion that kids learn just by being told what is right. I think the best way to learn is to have them come to the conclusion for themselves.


Side Note: I also hate when teachers answer a question with a question. (eg. "Why didn't the Jews just leave when the Nazis rolled into town?" "Why do you think they didn't leave when the Nazis rolled into town?") Don't be that teacher.

1 comment:

  1. AnonymousMarch 9, 2015 at 7:35 PM

    I love this story because you just proved that anything could be used for a teaching opportunity. That's what great teachers do. Make connections where it seems like there aren't any.

    -Maria

    ReplyDelete

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