“Our thoughts are unseen hands shaping the people we meet. Whatever we truly think them to be, that’s what they’ll become for us.” — Richard Cowper

“Prejudice feels like a white-hot wire being pressed to your heart.
Even when the sting goes away, a mark is left there.”        (M.F.)

“Prejudice feels like you are the broom
being pushed against the floor.”        (K.M.)

“You are separated by an imaginary wall from everyone else.
You just keep losing over and over again.”          (C.L.)

Such powerful images.  Illustrating feelings of being uncomfortable and not at all in control.  It might surprise you to learn that these feelings are being described by ten-year-old White children in a predominately White school in a small, predominately White village.   How could they possibly understand what being on the receiving end of prejudice might feel like?  How does anyone begin to understand an experience that has never been their own?

I credit Jane Elliot.  She is one of many people have inspired me to try new things throughout my teaching career.  Even though I never personally met Jane Elliot, I couldn’t shake the impact she had (continues to have) on both adults and children. I first heard of her in 1998 when we were showing a video to our fifth grade students entitled ABC News: Prejudice – Answering Children’s Questions.  The video was hosted by Peter Jennings, and Jane Elliot was a guest on the show.  As part of the show, Jane Elliot conducted an experiment.  She gave green collars to all of the children who had blue eyes.  Then she proceeded to treat them as if the color of their eyes indicated that they were not as smart, not as able, not as trustworthy, and not as patient as the children with brown eyes.  It was something to watch.

After seeing how she conducted this experiment and how the students reacted, I was fascinated and wanted to learn more about her.  I found this video and watched it.  It is a documentary of the full experiment she implemented in her all White classroom in the late 1960’s.  The  very first time she conducted this experiment was the day after Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated.  She knew that something had to be done so that her White students could understand what Black people were experiencing in our society.  Over the years she has continued to use this same approach to illustrate what discrimination feels like to people of all ages and in a multitude of situations.

Watching the shorter segment on the Prejudice:  Answering Children’s Questions video, we saw how angry the students became who were told to wear green collars.  Some wore expressions of confusion and hurt.  Others became belligerent, which only made things worse for them.  It was powerful because it was quite obvious those children hadn’t ever experienced such unfairness based on something they couldn’t control (eye color).  My students said they could understand what those with green collars must have been feeling based on the demeaning language and harsh condescending tones coming from Jane Elliot.  But was simply watching it enough to leave a lasting impression?  I didn’t think so.  So I asked my students if they wanted to do this same experiment in our classroom.  They didn’t hesitate.  This was something they wanted to try.

Before we actually carried out this experiment, the students had an idea of the role I would play and what might occur with them.  But still, we needed to have a heart to heart.  I warned them that we would all need to take this very seriously.  I would still be their teacher, Mrs. Steven, but there would be things I said and did that would surprise them.  And not in a good way.  I would need to play the part of a teacher who truly thought some of the students were “less special” than the others.  The fact that they were still excited to do this and thought it would be fun, told me just how necessary it was.  I hoped I could pull it off.  I told the students to go home and discuss with their families what we would be doing based on what they saw in the video.  There were about three parents who contacted me to let me know they were strongly in favor of this.

In preparation, I brainstormed several things I could do that children would think of as unfair.  That wasn’t a difficult task.  I decided that dividing them by eye color was probably the best.  I happened to have some pink felt, so as the students came in the next day, I looked into their eyes and handed the blue-eyed children a piece of felt and a safety pin.  That way it was more obvious to all which students had blue eyes, and which didn’t.

I knew my students had gym first thing, so I contacted the gym teacher the day before to ask if she would be willing to participate.  She thought it was a great idea, and thought of her own ways to discriminate.  As the students came in, she told the students wearing pink felt that they had to jump rope for a warm up and that they had better get going.  The rest of the students were given a choice of running laps or jumping rope.  It was the first of many times that morning that feelings would be hurt and things would not feel fair.

After gym, it was normal to let the students get a drink at the bubbler, and then walk back to class.  However on that day only some were allowed to get a drink at the bubbler outside the gym.  The students wearing pink felt had to use the bubbler in the first grade hallway.  When they arrived back in the classroom, they were scolded for having taken too long.

I had some desks arranged in a circle and the rest in rows toward the back of the room.  My tone was sharp and impatient with students wearing the pink felt, whereas it was smooth and friendly with the rest.  When there were questions about the work, I answered the questions asked by the brown-eyed students first and was very thorough in my response.  If that group had no questions, I answered the questions asked by the blue-eyed students, but hinted that they should have learned the information last year.  I suggested they work harder and pay better attention in class.

The students noted later that our room had never worked so quietly.  But it wasn’t a comfortable quiet.  The morning subjects were interrupted by one 15 minute recess, and the students came back grumbling about having had a rotten time.  When it was time for lunch, I joked with some and sent them off with a smile.  With others, I implied they were holding up the line and to hurry!  When they returned from lunch and recess, they were visibly upset.  Their emotions were so stoked that the littlest look or the smallest criticism was crushing.  They hated this day and this experiment.  It hadn’t been fun for anyone, including me.  But did it hit its intended target?  We would see.

I told them that the experiment was officially over and that those with the piece of pink felt could now remove it.  There were cheers signaling relief.  As I was collecting the felt pieces, I had everyone put their desks back into the normal arrangement and then get out a piece of paper.  I told them how important it was for them to write down what they were thinking and feeling while it was still fresh in their minds.  What follows is a sampling of those responses.

Today freaked me out.  It was scary.  So what if I have blue eyes.  I heard tons of comments Mrs. Steven made about us and saw the things she did.  I would almost be the saddest person on earth if this happened to me every day.  This whole day I have been writing things down on my desk about what happened.  For one, there were two milk counts.   Eli, a “bluey,” had to go get the milk for his group in a cardboard box, and Sam got to use the regular milk crate for the rest of the students.  The “blueys” even had to use the third grade bathroom which is all the way down the hall, when the fifth grade bathroom is right outside our door!

During science, she only let the “brownies” read aloud from the book.  When she handed back papers, the people with blue eyes had to get up and get their papers while people with brown eyes got to stay seated and Mrs. Steven handed their papers to them.  When we called the other students “brownies,” Mrs. Steven said, “Don’t call names!”  When we said, “But they were calling us blueys.”  She said, “Well, you are.”

I hated it soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much.  I was treated so badly.  I wanted to go home all day.  I was wishing I had brown eyes.  I felt like getting my stuff and walking home.  I felt like almost hurting someone.  I felt mad at some of my friends.  I felt alone and stupid.  I felt like if someone shot and killed me, nobody would care.  It was a horrible/awful/hateful experience.

I felt like I was very special compared to the blue eyed people. 

I wanted to tell her not to treat us like that just because we’re different.  She wouldn’t let us go to the bathroom or get a drink of water.  When Mrs. Steven did that to us, I felt like nothing … like a piece of dust in the wind … or an atom, because I was so tiny.

I liked it because Mrs. Steven trusted the “brownies.”  I hated it because at lunch recess I was playing four square, and some people that were “blueys” said I couldn’t play because I had brown eyes.  That right there cut me real deep.  I don’t know if they were joking or serious.  Either way it cut.  I didn’t like how my friends separated from me.

The blue-eyed people asked for help on math, but all she said was, “You’re smart kids, aren’t you?”  It would hurt my feelings if she said that to me.  It hurt my feelings, and she didn’t say it to me.

Today Mrs. Steven was being prejudiced.  Even though I wasn’t hurt by her words, I could tell other people were.  I care about my friends, so that’s why I got mad when she was being mean to them.”

This was the worst day ever.  It was awful.  I didn’t know Mrs. Steven could be such a pain.  She acted so serious.  The only reason muddy eyed people got to go first at everything and get treated better is because Mrs. Steven doesn’t want to be second class.  She wants to be “Little Miss Perfect.”  Man,  Mrs. Steven must really love being born with muddy eyes.  I hope she is not offended, but I feel like I could punch her.

Prejudice is awful.  It’s a problem.  I liked it at first, but then it got serious.  All this fighting about something stupid.  My friends hating me.  Me hating them.  At one recess no one would play with me except the other “brownies.”  I didn’t have any fun.  When we came in, some of us were calling the other kids names.  It got so out of hand.

This experiment began at roughly 8:15 am and ended at 12:45 pm.  I stopped it when I did so that we would have the afternoon to reflect and process.  What you’ve just read is really something, isn’t it?  This half day experiment had a big impact.  Some were hurt and took the pain inward. They felt defeated and wished they weren’t born with blue eyes.  Others were angry at the unfairness.  Some of that anger was directed at other children, and some of it was directed at me.  You could sense that the anger was bubbling, and if this had continued much longer it might have turned into something physical.   Those were some of the reactions to those with blue eyes, anyway.  The reactions of the brown-eyed children were different.  Some were angry, yes.  They saw the unfairness and felt bad for the blue-eyed children, but they didn’t cross the line I had drawn.  They didn’t get as angry and didn’t reach out to those for whom they felt sorry.  In a very real sense, both groups displayed a kind of powerlessness regarding the situation.  At any rate, I’m glad the feelings were real and that they were strong enough to become embedded in their memory.

Let me clearly state that even with their “powerful” feelings, I think these children had only an inkling of an understanding about prejudice and discrimination.  How could it be more than that when they have not experienced it in the real world day after day after day?  But an inkling may be enough for them to develop an empathy for people who do experience these things.  It may be enough for these children to remember that everyone isn’t always treated equally in our society.

After the initial writing was finished and people said what they wanted to say about the experiment, I handed out big 12 x 18 inch pieces of construction paper and colored chalk.  We spaced out our desks so that each person had a bit of privacy.  It was to be a quiet time to explore feelings about prejudice and discrimination.  I told them I wasn’t looking for recognizable images, but rather for them to choose a color to begin with and to let how they were feeling be the thing that moved that piece of chalk on the paper.  They could change chalk colors as they wanted.  After I felt students had had enough time to express what they maybe hadn’t yet put into words, I had them wash their desk, their hands, and then stand in a large circle with the desks displaying their drawings in the middle.  I made it very clear that no one would be asked to defend or explain their drawing.  We were going to look at the drawings and see what we noticed.

One of the things that stood out was that several drawings were full of dark colors that were kind of scribbled reminding us of a tornado or a knotted ball of string.  Others had sharp angled lines or zigzags with marks that looked like tears falling.  There were squares within squares drawn that were dark and smudged on the inside.  These did not evoke feelings of happiness or cheeriness.  More often the words offered by the students were trapped, confused, angry, sad, hurt, helpless, and furious.  Now contrast those drawings with the few that had suns drawn on them and included lots of flowy bright colors.  Happy, fearless, content.

The drawings were a meaningful way to share what other people were feeling without those people having to say a thing.  And yet the drawings themselves speak loudly about what prejudice and discrimination do to the members of a society.  The children with brown eyes felt bad momentarily for the other children, but in the end their own life was still represented by sunshine and cheery colors.  They saw, they recognized the difference, but felt it wasn’t something they could change.  There was at least one or two who drew images that evoked conflicted feelings.  One side of the paper would have a light fluffy kind of feel, but the other would have an image that became swirled into a colorful mess.  It wasn’t dark or smudgy or angry feeling like some of the images drawn by the blue-eyed children, but there was a feeling of unrest.

Can you see how these feelings reflect some of the real life tensions we see in our world today?   Those who are on the receiving end of prejudice and discrimination don’t all react to it in the same way.  Some push and question the authority of those whose actions are discriminatory.  Some are overwhelmed with feelings of anger and frustration at how unjust the system is, and they physically, sometimes violently, react to it.  Some become withdrawn, powerless, and lose self-worth.    And what about those watching the discrimination and prejudice?   Some speak up about the unfairness, but many like being first and the privilege that comes with “having brown eyes.” They tend to look at things as fine the way they are, even though they wouldn’t want to trade places with the group being discriminated against.

The last part of the day was spent writing poetry.  I asked them to try to put into words what they saw in their drawings. What follows is a sampling of those poems which were formatted and finished the next day.

 

Prejudice really stinks.
All the anger builds up and up.
I hate it.
It’s like a rainstorm on a party,
a bomb exploding in my head.
It’s odious.
I want to run away from it.        (J.B.)

 

Laughing was not allowed
Eyes made us different
From everybody else
Today.

O
ut of the way, the brownies say
U are not the best
Today.                                      (E.G.)

 

Prejudice is
like I’m a squirrel trapped in a cage with bears,
like I have no power,
like everyone is an eye, and I am blind,
like I’m a rabbit in a wolf family,
like I’m being blamed for something I didn’t do.           (D.P.)

 

Prejudice feels like getting trapped under
a dock in the middle of the sea.
It’s like the devil pulling you to the core of the earth.         (K.S.)

 

Prejudice is like you’re in a glass cage trying to get out.
It’s like walking up an escalator that goes down.                 (N J.)

 

Prejudice makes you feel like a rain drop in a pit of flames,
like there’s a dark wall, or maybe a giant not wanting to move out of your way.
Don’t people know?  It’s what’s inside that counts.                 (A.H.)

Prejudice is a storm, screaming and yelling,
laughing, not with me, but at me.                            (L.S.)

 

Prejudice feels like someone keeps hitting you
until you just fall down in pain.
It feels like the rage of a storm over only your head.
Prejudice feels like walking through a jungle of people
determined to make you feel hurt.                             (G.L.)

 

To me prejudice felt like no one cared about me.
It made me feel all alone.  It’s hard to describe with words.
I felt hatred, anger, sadness, and confusion.
I wanted to scream.                                                     (M.M.)

 

I have many many more poems in my collection.  Because from 1999 until 2014, I repeated this experiment with every new group of fifth grade students.  We usually did it in January while we were reading Martin Luther King, Jr.’s biography.  That was when we were encountering those words, so it made sense to do it then.  Later on, in March and April, we applied this deeper understanding of what Black people have been up against in our country when we were studying the American Civil War. We stepped away from the textbook and each were responsible for several researched reports that when pieced together gave us a broad picture of how the War affected people from all walks of life at that time.  One of my preferred read-alouds during this study was Day of Tears by Julius Lester. It is a story of the largest auction of slaves in American history.  Over 400 slaves were sold in two days.  I felt as if my students were better equipped now to imagine what it would be like in someone else’s shoes.

Many times we also wrote poems to reflect on our study of the Civil Rights Movement as a whole.  Some wrote letters to Martin Luther King, Jr. instead.  In 2012, we published a book of our poems called An Unequal Freedom.  Each student (and the teacher) contributed a poem and a drawing.  The students named the book and they each submitted art for the cover that we later selected by a vote.

Here are some samples from our book.

 

  

 

  

  

   

Even though this was an uncomfortable kind of experiment, I am glad I saw Jane Elliot when I did.  I’ve been reminded of her recently.  Because of the racial unrest in our country, she has been interviewed and many of her videos have resurfaced.  If you haven’t heard of her, I suggest you read this NPR article about Jane Elliot, or search for her on Youtube and watch some of the other videos of her in action.  Over the years she has continued to use this same approach to illustrate what discrimination feels like to people of all ages and  in many situations.  Every time I watch her in action I am reminded that it is the experience that helps you “get it.”

Every once in a while I will run into a former student who will mention that this experiment is something that has left a lasting impression.  Below is a recent comment I received from just such a student.

“One lesson I will never forget was when our all White class was learning about the Civil Rights Movement, our all White class that lived in an all White community, and you divided us up by eye color to teach us about racial prejudice.  It was a lesson for a lifetime.   I remember that day so clearly, and I was in the 5th grade!”

As much as I love that comment, what I love even more is that this student was in my fifth grade classroom in 1999!  That is 21 years ago!  Talk about a classroom activity having a lasting impression!  But did it change the way those children thought about Black people?  I know it did at the time, but how many of my former students took this understanding into their adult lives?  I think it is pretty obvious that the effectiveness of this experiment isn’t the kind of thing I can measure properly.    So many experiences contribute to the shaping of who we are at any given moment.  And I have no way of knowing what other experiences those students have had that may have either strengthened or weakened what they learned that day.  But I believe it was important to do.  Many students have mentioned it over the years as we have talked and reminisced.   Much like the student I’ve quoted above, they didn’t really feel the full impact of it until they were adults navigating jobs and social situations in the real world.   And I believe that it provided a glimpse of something they wouldn’t experience and understand in any other way. 

“When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself.”    Wayne Dyer

 

 

Rally the Allies!

There was quite a hub-bub about the campaign rally scheduled recently in Oklahoma.  Several current medical and social issues caused this rally to be questioned more than most political rallies in our past.  And of course, the whole event got me thinking about the word ‘rally.’  A political rally is nothing new in this country.  I believe the first political rally was held by George Washington when he was running for his second term!  Prior to his political campaign and the rallies that took place to support that, he often had a need for rallies of a slightly different type.  Accounts of the battles indicate that there were many times during the American Revolution when the soldiers needed to hear words of encouragement from their leader.  They needed to be brought back together and reminded of what was at stake in that war.  They needed a pep talk of sorts.  Other times during the conflict, they needed to be rallied (brought back together) so that they were ready for the next advance.


Washington inspecting the colors after The Battle of Trenton by Edward Percy
Moran [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The idea of pulling a group of people together to encourage them to think in a certain way was what the word ‘rally’ meant then, and it is what the word means now!  You may be familiar with the phrase “Rally ‘Round The Flag.”  That is a line from the Civil War era song, “Battle Cry of Freedom.”  Here is a link to the story of this song.  It was written days before it was played on July 24, 1862 at a huge war rally held by Abraham Lincoln, who was trying to recruit as many as 300,000 volunteers to fight for the Union.  This article includes the words to the song and a version of the song.

Civil War Music:  The Battle Cry of Freedom

Civil War Posters

Of course there are rallies that are not political in their intent.  Most everyone who has attended a secondary school with a sports team has attended a pep rally!  They are especially commonplace in the U.S.  I’m not sure about other countries.  The goal of a pep rally is to stir up some school spirit!  There is music by the school’s pep band, there is chanting by the school’s cheerleaders, and there is lots of encouragement offered to the members of the particular sporting team being featured.

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CC BY-SA 3.0  Pepassemblyatschool.jpg by Jesrapo

What else is there to know about this word?

At Etymonline we see that this word was used as a verb (1600) before it was used as a noun (1650).  The verb meant “bring together.”  Before that it was from French rallier, and before that from Old French ralier “assemble, unite again.”  As you can see the original sense and meaning of this word persists today!  Looking closer at the etymology of this word, we see <re-> “again” and alier “unite.”  At this point in the Etymonline entry we are directed to the related word ‘ally.’  That word is first attested in the late 13c.  Notice that it is older by 300 years!  At that time it meant “to join in marriage.”  Further back it was from Old French alier “combine, unite.”  Notice the spelling difference between Old French ralier and Old French alier!  The only difference is the <r> which represents the <re-> prefix “again.”

Before I go further, I just want to mention how much I love the fact that ‘rally’ and ‘ally’ have a common ancestor!  Think about the word ‘ally’ for a minute.  We think of our allies as those who join us and work with us for the mutual benefit of both.  According to Etymonline, ‘ally’ has had a sense of “form an alliance, join, associate” since the late 14th century.  We saw certain nations become allies in both World War I against the Central Powers and then against Germany, Japan, and Italy in World War II.  It is not a stretch to think that once you form an alliance with someone or some group, the two people or groups are now allies.  And who better to rally with than your allies!

The Oxford English Dictionary lists several variations of this first sense of this word.  The first is “a rapid reassembling of forces for renewed effort or fighting.”  That is certainly the same sense we see in accounts of war.  While reading an account of the Battle of Trenton (American Revolution) at the History Channel site, I came across the following use of this word:

“Rall attempted to rally his troops but was never able to establish a defensive perimeter, and was shot from his horse and fatally wounded.”

A second variation is that of a “signal for rallying.”  In order for the soldiers to know they are to rally, there must be some kind of signal.  A commander might tell someone to sound the rally!  It was no doubt a specific bugle or drum signal.

A third variation would be “a meeting of the supporters of a cause to demonstrate the strength of public feeling or to inspire or foster enthusiasm.”  My New Oxford American Dictionary describes this sense as “assemble in a mass meeting.”  I would venture to say that people the world over have seen or participated in such mass meetings in the last year.  Recently there have been (and continue to be) protests/rallies for causes like Black Lives Matter. Earlier this year there were protests or rallies for Climate Change as well.  I imagine you could name several rallies that you’ve seen in the news with other particular focuses.  I remember participating in a rally myself back in 2011!

A fourth variation would be in the context of boxing.  The word would be used to mean “a sustained exchange of blows.”  I went to Google to find ‘rally’ used in this way in a recent headline or story.  I found, “Boxers Rally to Defeat Willamette” from September, 2018.  But on closer examination, this story is about a volleyball team who rallied (to come together to restore spirits and enthusiasm).  As you no doubt noticed, instead of finding this word used with this sense as a noun, I found it with another sense as a verb.  The next headline I found was, “Boxers Rally for Win in Home Opener.”  Again, this had nothing to do with boxing.  It was about baseball which you may have guessed from the phrase ‘home opener.’  The third headline I found was actually about boxing!  “Boxing World Rallies Against Devin Haney for …”  In this story, one boxer had made a blatantly racist remark against another and a large number of boxing enthusiasts rallied (came together to send a solid message).  So I was unlucky in finding an example of this word used in this sense as a noun at all.  I wonder if it is because there is a more commonly used word for this particular sense.  I’m thinking of the word ‘volley.’  I could easily find reference to a boxer receiving “a volley of well-placed blows.”

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1989-0325-010, Michael Gusnick, Torsten Schmitz.jpg

Michael Gusnick, Torsten Schmitz by Thomas Lehmann
Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-1989-0325-010 / Lehmann, Thomas / CC-BY-SA 3.0 /
CC BY-SA 3.0 DE (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/deed.en)

A fifth variation would be “a concerted effort by a team, player, or competitor, especially one made from a losing position to draw even or take the lead.”  This sense applies to the sporting headlines I found in the previous paragraph!  Many times a team or player rallies with the hopes of  coming from behind to win.  At the site The Bleacher Report, I found this list:  The 20 Most Outstanding Sports Team Rally Songs.     One of my favorites off that list is “New York, New York” which is a rally song for the New York Yankees.  Do you know it?  It became popularized by Frank Sinatra.

Now an obviously different sense of ‘rally’ has to do with car racing.  A rally is “a race for motor vehicles, usually over a long distance on public roads or rough terrain and typically divided into several divisions.”  The Sports Car Club of America describes a RoadRally this way: “Because events do not involve speed, teams do not need specialized equipment for their car. Although there are classes for vehicles with RoadRally-specific equipment on them, often teams will do the events with only pens, paper and a wristwatch. On the rare occasion the RoadRally is held at night, a small flashlight might be needed. Entry fees for the events are typically less than $40, and often events will even have classes for RoadRally novices.”


By oisa – https://www.flickr.com/photos/oisa/763487574/, CC BY 2.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2684357
Gumball Rally Start London 2007.jpg
London Maximillion Jaguar XJ220 leaving the start in London in 2007

In referring to a rally, but wanting to switch the word to a verb, one could say, “The driver rallied his car in Italy.”

There are just so many interesting words within our reach every single day.  Even when you think you understand a word, there is always something new to discover.  There is always a deeper understanding to gift to yourself!  I also find that with every investigation I conduct on my own, I become more and more familiar with my resources and what the internet can make available to me.  I prefer to use more than one resource simply because each is written by a different person, and in doing their own digging for the information, may have come across different resources themselves.  More information is always clarifying!  When there are discrepancies, it just means I need to look further and think about what information I need to know in order to reconcile the discrepancies I see.  Sometimes the discrepancy is simply my misunderstanding of linguistics and language.  So I ask questions of knowledgeable people and I reread trusted sources.

Don’t forget to conduct your own investigations.  The more often you do it, the better equipped you are to teach others how to go about an investigation.  I have found that the more discoveries I have made for myself, the less I want to “make things easy” for my students.  If I enjoy the moments of discovery this much, why would I rob my students of the same joy?  I guide them, I lead them, I help them understand the signposts along the way, but I let them see it for themselves!  And everyday we rally around words!

 

Civil War Wax Museum – 2014

DSCN4156

Today was the day.  The count down began last week.  Busy.  Busy.  Busy.  Finish writing reports.  Finish maps.  Then there are the little things like the Table of Contents, the dedication page  and the About the Author page.  Measure out the cover.  Cut.  Put the pages inside.  Pound a nail to create holes for sewing.  Sew the pages to the cover.  Cover the cover.  What to use?  Wallpaper? Colored paper?  Measure out, cut and glue to cover.  Fold over edges and glue.  Measure, cut and paste  the end pages.  Decorate the cover.  Number the pages.  Admire.  Feel proud.

Decorate the Little Theater.  Student-made posters created and saved over the last 19 years need to be taped to the walls.  Hang  stars and sparkly strips.  Set up tables.  Cover the tables and book shelves with colored paper.  Hang flags.  Display artifacts.  Display resource books.  Display handmade hardcover books.  Practice the Gettysburg Address.  Get costumes on.  Get in place.  Welcome visitors.  Every 20 minutes or so, stop to recite the Gettysburg Address.

Here are some pictures of our event … our cast of characters.

A Half Score and Eight Years Ago …

I love doing big projects with my students.  There are so many skills that can be incorporated when the project is big and deep and fun!  Yesterday was our Civil War Wax Museum (the first for my students, the eighteenth for me)… it was the culmination of six weeks worth of research, writing, discussing, and experiencing.  Each student had researched a particular person who lived and played a role in the Civil War.  Yesterday they dressed as that person and shared their life with museum goers.

Periodically I interrupted the flow in the museum to introduce myself as Abraham Lincoln and then to ask the students to recite the Gettysburg Address.

At the museum, students each recited their line of the Gettysburg Address from wherever they were in the room.  I videotaped this version before we began so that everyone could be heard clearly.

The students also made hard covered books filled with their research, maps, and poems.  When I say they made the books, I mean that they measured out the cardboard, pounded nails so they could sew the pages together, and then covered the books with wallpaper.

In the afternoon, all of the third, fourth, and fifth graders visited our museum.  In the evening, parents, grandparents, neighbors, and siblings visited.   By 7:00pm my students and I were thirsty, sweaty, and tired.  But we were also exhilarated, proud, and deep down happy!  In the eighteen years I have been teaching about the Civil War and holding Civil War Wax Museums, I have never grown tired of watching my students exceed their own expectations.  That feeling is what fosters “growing up”.

John Goddard Set Goals — So Have We!

With the idea of exploration and adventure still in mind, we thought about John Goddard and the goals he set for himself when he was 15.   We got to thinking … what might we like to do, to accomplish, to see, to experience, to master in the life journey ahead.  Each student made a list of at least 25 goals.  Then we made a video of ourselves sharing those goals.  Below is a shortened version of our video – a sampling of what 5th graders see themselves capable of achieving.  It all begins with a goal … and then step by step we’ll learn what to do to make it happen!

Exploration: Goals and Adventures

The topic of exploration has always fascinated me.  The idea of experiencing the unknown kind of makes my toes tingle in the same way that being in high places does.  Just think about it.  An explorer takes all kinds of risks!  An explorer needs to be resourceful, brave, prepared, and maybe even a little bit crazy.  It must be hard to be prepared when you’re not sure what you’re getting into or what you’ll find.  A successful explorer no doubt needs to be able to think on his or her feet, meaning he or she must be able to solve problems.  A successful explorer won’t be the kind of person who gets stuck on an escalator and then stands there yelling for help!

“One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his greatest surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn’t.”
– Henry Ford

We are all explorers of sorts.  We might not all be climbing mountains, flying off into space, or digging up dinosaurs.  Many of us are exploring our own abilities.  I remember that when my son was taking karate classes, I decided to give it a try myself.  I was exploring karate and myself at the same time.  I learned about the self defense aspect and the discipline required to focus on the various forms.  I learned that I became very nervous each time I tested for a new belt.  I learned that I loved the feeling of passing the test and earning the next rank.  I made it all the way to brown belt!  I’m still proud of that accomplishment.  I’ve always tried to find new things to learn and new goals to accomplish.  Last year I ran a 7k race and came in third in my division!  Running wasn’t anything I ever did.  But I became determined to set myself a running goal.  My first goal was to run a 5k.  Once I accomplished that, I raised my goal and ran a 7k.  I can’t even clearly explain how amazing I felt when I crossed the finish line. 

Thinking of my own experience with learning and trying new things, I can only imagine the emotions that an explorer feels.  There must be moments of uncertainty,  fear, and discouragement.  There are so many things that could go wrong!  An explorer must have a drive to keep going and not give up.

“To get through the hardest journey we need take only one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping.”
– Chinese Proverbs

And if the feeling of accomplishment that an explorer feels is anything like the feeling of accomplishment each of us feels when we succeed at something that was not easy to complete, then I understand why there is still exploration in the world.  As I see it, the difference between an explorer and someone like myself is the level of risk and the level of commitment.  I explore new skills and new learning, but I don’t take myself to remote areas of the earth for months at a time or put myself in dangerous situations in order to accomplish my goals.

Each student in the class is currently researching an explorer.  What are each of you finding out about what it takes to explore the unknown?  What kind of person was (or is) your explorer?   Do you think that today’s explorers are different from the explorers that left Europe in the 1500’s?  Are the reasons for exploring today different than the reasons for exploring back then?

An Assignment for my Students:

A few days ago I read aloud an article about an explorer named John Goddard.  He is a remarkable man.  When he was 15 years old, he made a list of things he wanted to accomplish in his lifetime.  Click on this link  (John Goddard ) and watch the video there.  The video was made in either 1998 or 1999, but it is worthwhile.  Then click on John Goddard’s list of goals.  As you are glancing through the list, think of a connection between your explorer and John Goddard.  Then make a comment to this post.  Explain your connection and tell a bit about your explorer.  Please keep in mind the comment guidelines and our new goal of a 3-4 sentence minimum.