Today was a good day. Every year we have a minimum day where students are encouraged to bring their parents along with them. Sure it isn’t the true experience – only 39 minutes, instead of 54. Everyone, including myself, is dressed up and we put on our best lesson. Some teachers hate this day, but I love it.
In world history, I did a lesson on creating an enemy with propaganda. After a short review of the concept of propaganda, I showed examples of enemies being depicted as beasts, rapists, barbarians, etc. My flow was good, timing good enough, everyone participated, and the parents laughed at my numerous one-liners.
In United States history, I introduced my unit on the Civil Rights Movement. I defined civil rights and the movement as a whole, then went through a series of images that showcased life in the South before and during the 1960s. After that I gave the students and parents a copy of a literacy test from Louisiana. Once they completed the test, we went over parts of it, and discussed its purpose. Again it went smoothly, I got more parent participation then in world history and even my quiet class got involved.
I hope events like this give the community a positive impression of the efforts of the teachers. Our union battles with the administration are continuing and the pessimistic part of me feels that things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. If the community as a whole values our contributions, they might be more supportive.
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