The Big Fresh March 21, 2015 Taking Detours

I recently was in the midst of studying the novel Lord of the Flies with a group of seniors. We had been on a roll of great discussions and inquiry into the nature of human behavior. The students seemed to be enjoying the book; we were close to finishing…and then BAM–it was like someone hit the slow motion button on the remote. Interest began to wane, and despite my best efforts, we just couldn’t regain that momentum we had at the beginning. I had a goal in mind. I knew where I wanted my students to be and when I wanted them to be there. We had to finish this unit by next Tuesday…because I had written it in my lesson plan book…in pen!

Then I took a step back and asked myself, “At what expense?” So, we slog through and finish up the book by next Tuesday with my lesson plan book still intact, but with students who no longer have any interest in the text. When they looked back on this book, what would stick in their memories more: the great work we did early in the unit, or the sour taste left in their mouths at the end? I knew the answer and, more importantly, what I needed to do.

We spent the next two days studying and crafting “Thank You Notes” in the style of Jimmy Fallon. The students were surprised by the change in pace, but quickly got into discussing the sarcasm, irony, and comedic timing that makes these notes so hilarious. I asked students to create one note, but all of them wanted to do more, and we posted the best examples on a bulletin board in the classroom. All of the laughter and fun we had on this brief hiatus from the novel buoyed our spirits before we got back to work on it.

I once read that Ernest Hemingway said, ““It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”  I realized just how true this is. Lesson plans and goals are essential to our teaching, but sometimes we get so caught up in them that we forget about the importance of student engagement. Stopping periodically to “take the temperature” of the classroom can be very valuable. And, if it’s time to take a detour, there’s always white-out!