High Horses

In M&M I’m actually finding some useful tips to remember. The traits of a successful teacher, for example, are helpful to review; I especially like the brief discussion on flexibility, with the reminder that “we teach people, not subject matter.” The importance of maintaining a sense of joy and possibility in the classroom, the fear of high achievers that they will suddenly be labeled ‘ordinary,’ and the tendency for teachers to ignore the good, ‘normal’ students are all important to keep in mind, especially as we look forward to student teaching.

My sister was one of the “forgotten ‘ordinary’ students” discussed in M&M (18-19). She was overlooked and underestimated until she got to graduate school (she’s now a speech pathologist in Tomah). All through middle and high school, she was picked on mercilessly; and she was so kind, quiet, and shy that she rarely stood up for herself. She also rarely stood out in class. And while a few teachers were kind to her, most of them dismissed her and her mediocre grades as not worth the effort.

Ah, college. Not having had the best grades, my sister went on to a 2-year school to prove she could do college-level work. There, she took many classes, including Spanish, her favorite subject. But again, she was not the most promising linguist, as the professor soon found out. One day, my sister arrived in class, sat with her group, and prepared to correct an essay that had been passed out to everyone. Though the name had been blacked out, my sister immediately recognized the essay as hers. She had to sit through an entire class with the students around her picking apart her essay, making snide comments about the “stupidity” of the paper’s unknown author. My mild, kind sister was devastated; she cried for hours when she got home. Though four years younger, I wanted to march into that professor’s office and let her have it. Not long after that, my sister gave up studying Spanish.

So back to M&M. Yes, I agree with the need to support, encourage, and pay positive attention to students who would otherwise be overlooked. These students are often the most fragile because they haven’t built up a thick skin from getting into trouble, and they don’t have a buffer zone from being a celebrated “success” in the classroom. But I have to point out that, while M&M talk a good game, they also quote an 11th grader--by name--and draw attention to her spelling mistake, “pedistle” (5).

‘Oh, isn’t it cute, the little high schooler misspelled pedestal. Let’s not bother to substitute the correct spelling in editor’s brackets, it’s cuter to just to leave it.’ chuckle, chuckle, nudge, nudge.
But how is this student going to feel, being immortalized in a textbook with a ‘cute’ little spelling mistake overshadowing her comments. Because she’s right, this Jill Witthuhn, teachers need to get off our pedestals of superiority--and we need to reflect on how we share students’ work, opinions, and insights with the world.

Although the authors undoubtedly had Jill’s permission to publish her comments, I still think they could have been more sensitive in handling this quote. Though not nearly as harmful as the Spanish professor incident that my sister endured, I’m fairly sure that Jill felt a pang when she saw her words treated this way.

Or maybe I’m the oversensitive one…In my defense, the air IS kind of thin up here on my high horse.