An Apple A Day Keeps The Passive Learner Away!

These are pictures of an apple. In the picture below, I was attempting to slice it, and clearly... I am not the next Rachel Ray. However, the point is not how this apple looks deformed but instead, it is the bigger picture of why I have an apple in my hand during an English 110 class.

My teacher walked around the classroom and let every student pick out an apple of their choice, from a selection she had. Once we had all chosen, we were to analyze that apple, get to know it, draw pictures of it if we wanted to, and write descriptions of it. We were to write down physical, textural, and even taste observations (umm...sound familiar? sketchbook deja vu, anyone?? Let me tell you, It was sooo weird because that very day, about an hour earlier, in your class we turned in a sketchbook assignment!) After that, we were supposed to write a letter to either Shakespeare or Emily Dickenson, about how they should come back from the dead in order to eat this apple. We were supposed to sort of write a sales pitch in a sense. It was so weird!

I wrote my letter to Emily Dickenson and ended up (I confess) having a lot of fun with it. It seemed like such a ridiculous and silly assignment from afar, but once I got into it, I really enjoyed it. After we were given a couple of minutes to write, my teacher told us to choose a few lines that were our favorite, and we were to go around the class and every person was going to share theirs, one right after another. Her intention was to have a class poem put together. Before we started, she said "Apples by English 110", and every student shared their lines. It was really really awesome to hear how everyone else had essentially the same subject matter to write about, and yet none of us had even remotely the same lines when we shared.

I feel like a lot of the ingredients in this class lesson connected back to Eds 150. For one thing, it was totally active learning. Oh my goodness yes. Also, the task was very out-of-the-ordinary, strange, abstract, and it required a lot of pushing. We were to take something "normal", "common" and typical, and let it evolve into something so inspirational as poetry that would summon a dead poet out of their grave. I also notice the element of audience. We were required to share with the entire class-it wasn't on volunteer basis. We ALL did it. In that sense, when our teacher told us that and told us to choose lines to read, I think all the students really chose the ones they were most proud of, (or maybe some people even scribbled down some better ones right then last minute!). From now on, when I confront an apple, I don't think I will look at it the same. I think that's what education is all about-spotlighting the common and proving that it is extraordinary.

As a teacher, I will hardly be rich. Instead of going to the store at the drop of a hat whenever I need some resource for something. Maybe God (or the president?) knew what he was doing to make the system the way it is so that teachers would not make abundant amounts of money because since they don't, they are required to be innovative. This is a skill that extends far outside of materials shopping. In a classroom, a good teacher needs to be innovative, creative, flexible, and able to use ANYTHING to teach. (I MUST go to Berea-this philosophy totally harmonizes with sustainability/recycling. :p).

I also like the role our Eng 110 teacher played in this. She was simply the facilitator; the apple hander-outer, the "start" whistle-blower. She informed us of our assignment, but after that, was "hands off". We were independent and in a way, inquirying into how we would accomplish this vaguely explained, and surely never encountered before task. I'm so glad we were. We were nudged a little, and elbowed into taking a risk, leaping and seeing what would happen. I want to be a teacher that challenges students to stretch, to think in ways and create things they would never do on their own time, at home, with their friends, etc. I want my students to be proud to show me, show the world, and show themselves what they can come up with if they put their energy (and mind) to it. I want them to see their potential as well as I will.