"One test of the correctness of educational procedure is the happiness of the child."

Maria Montessori

Imagine being able to observe classrooms of today, yet remain unseen.  Like some Ebenezer Scrooge being escorted through time by the Ghosts of Christmas, invisible to the students and teachers yet able to see and hear the workings of the classroom.  What do you think you would see?

Happy children?

Maybe.

The sad reality is that we start losing students in middle school - especially young men.  During this time, students are just starting to explore and understand their independence, and it is precisely at this time when schools start to impose more structure and allow fewer freedoms in terms of their education.  What is the end result?

Most students will do just fine.

Most students understand the expectations placed upon them by their parents, friends, community, etc., and they will conform, grudgingly, to those expectations.

But what about those students that don't do well?  Those that push back against the structures placed upon them in classrooms and schools?  Those 8th grade boys that refuse to read The Diary of Anne Frank because it bores them to tears?

You cannot force some students to engage in school - no matter what.

Imagine telling a group of students, “Today we are going to read a text with minute attention to detail in order to determine what the text is explicitly saying.  In addition, we will make logical inferences from the given text.  You will also be citing specific textual evidence in order to support any written or spoken conclusions you may draw from the text.”

How would most react?  Eye rolling?  Looks of dread?  Furtive glances at watches, clocks, and phones in order to see how long their suffering will last?  All of the above and more.  And yet, this is what happens in classrooms every single day.  On the "outs" - the outside world.

Now, imagine trying this sort of "examine the text structures" nonsense on the inside - the inside of a maximum-security juvenile correctional facility.  Or worse yet, grammar packets.

That's what I was faced with when I first started teaching on the inside.  I was a licensed educator with several years under my belt, but I was totally unprepared for what I faced when I stood in front of a class of the worst juvenile offenders in the state.  Something to Teach is the story of how I learned to teach on the inside.