The Decisive Element Part II

This week we provide two different stories that validate Haim Ginott's contention that teachers are the decisive element in the classroom.  Before beginning, consider a few more words of wisdom from Ginott as well:

From Beth Shepperd: One Conversation Changed My Life

My schedule at the beginning of my freshman year of high school included Basic English with Mrs. Kpotufe. I’d been in similar classes in middle school, with many of the same kids. I didn’t mind that I already knew the material, and I liked that many of the other students were neighborhood friends.  Looking back, I realize that I’d been “tracked,” which likely started when I transitioned into the sixth grade.  Entering high school was simply an extension of my middle school placement.

My parents divorced in the third grade, and the resulting years were tough for my family. As my mom searched for affordable housing and better paying jobs, I moved in and out of six different schools and three school districts.  I wasn’t a bad student in sixth grade, but the inconsistencies and skill gaps that came with frequent moving resulted in my placement in one of the lower tracks.

By the ninth grade, I had more stability in my life.  The skill gaps had closed, but no one explained that to me, and it didn’t occur to me that anything should be different—until I showed up in the classroom of Mrs. Kpotufe.

Beth still has the picture of Mrs. Kpotufe,
the teacher who changed the course of her life.

One day she kept me after class and spent some time explaining to me that she thought I was not a good fit for her class.  She wanted to know what I thought about moving into a different English class. With her help and guidance, I was moved out of a few Basic classes and into a few Honors classes.

This one conversation changed the trajectory of my life.

I still don’t know what she saw in me or what motivated her to get involved. Perhaps it was only a small thing in her mind, but this change in placement allowed me to access curriculum, peers, and teachers who fostered a collegiate culture. Curriculum included conversations about SAT scores, college applications and AP courses. I wouldn’t have been exposed to this information any other place in my life. I was the first person in my immediate family to graduate from high school and the first person in my extended family to graduate from college. I went on to grad school and beyond.

For me, transformative education is certainly about great curriculum, but it is more than that.  It is about fostering a growth mindset.  It is about having a student-centered approach.  It is about modeling self- advocacy and soft skills, and it is about seeing opportunities and creating change for our students. 

Mrs. Kpotufe was a transformational teacher in my life. She wasn’t teaching a course that would challenge my current belief systems or shift my world views, but her impact was absolutely life-changing.

From Phil: Yes, Ma'am

In the fall of 1967, when I was in fifth grade, my family moved from Northern Indiana to Winston Salem, North Carolina, a city that was home to major cigarette companies and often covered by the sweet smell of uncut tobacco. 

We moved to Winston Salem in 1967, a difficult year
for the city and, at times, for our family.

That year, my father was completing his pastoral and counseling studies, and my mother worked the night shift in a local hospital.  In the fall of ‘67, the city was smoldering from racial tensions, occasionally erupting into violence, and in the spring of 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed in Memphis.  My family has numerous stories to tell about that year, but I will tell you only one today.

It is a story about my first day in school at Dalton Elementary, a segregated school in Winston Salem.  In fact, it is about the first ten minutes of my first day of school.

While I had moved to new elementary schools before, my first day at Dalton was the most memorable of all my first days.  The teacher—and for the life of me, I can’t remember her name—took attendance in what seems a traditional way, by calling out names.  Students responded by saying, “Here.”  It all seemed normal until it was my turn.

This is my first conversation with my new teacher:

Teacher: Phil Lederach

Me: Here

Teacher: You’re new here, right?

Me: Yes

Teacher: Yes what?

Me: Yes, I’m new here.

(Long Pause)

Teacher: We don’t like smart aleck Yankees here.  Go sit in the hall.

I was stunned. 

I had no idea what had just happened, or why I was being sent to the hall, but to the hall I went.  I closed the door, fell to the floor, and burst into tears.

Fortunately, the rest of the story isn’t so traumatic.  The principal of Dalton Elementary School came down the hall and asked what was going on.  Between sobs, I explained what happened, and he said, “Come with me, son.” 

He took me to his office, sat me down, and explained that in Winston Salem it was important to say, “Yes ma’am” and “No, sir.”  It was a lesson I learned well that day, and it was a lesson I took with me every first day of school when I was the teacher.

Today, I wonder about our unwritten rules at HSE.  Every organization has them.  Are we aware of what these are and how they might impact our students? 

Yes, Sir, that is a thought worth considering….

Have a great week, HSE.

HSE Teaching and Learning Team