Did you watch Glee last night? Boy Gwyneth killed it. She’s so perfect I usually can’t stand her but I had to give it up for her last night. She played a substitute teacher who was super cool and fun and let the kids sing songs they loved, instead of the ones Mr. Schue had been making them sing.
I loved the whole conversation they had about their different teaching philosophies. She argued that you can’t connect with kids unless you relate to them in a way they already understand – the way they relate to themselves and each other. He argued that it’s a teacher’s job to show their students new perspectives.
Holly Holiday (a.k.a. Gwyneth): “16% of all high school students dropped out last year. You can’t just expect them to sit up and pay attention. These kids feel special. They have a voice. And if we don’t listen to it they just tune us out.”
Mr Schoe: “I give my kids a voice. I just don’t let it run free. I’m the teacher, it’s my job to know more than they do.”
Holly Holiday: “Right, but you don’t know more about what they care about the most – themselves.”
Boy could I relate. When you’re working with kids it can be really challenging to strike the right balance of being an effective disciplinarian and being cool and relatable. Matt does this really well but it’s always been more awkward for me. As a wise man once said, “It’s a fine line between stupid and clever.” It’s easy to try too hard. And once you’ve crossed into stupid from clever it can all go downhill quickly if you’re not careful. (Holly Holliday learned this the hard way after she let Mercedes clog the tailpipe on Sue Sylvester’s Le Car with tater tots.)
But when you do find that balance where you’re able to relate to kids AND expand their horizons, it can be pretty amazing. Like the PS22 chorus. Here they are singing Phoenix’s ‘Lisztomania’. Seeing these kids pour their hearts into this song as they sing it gives me chills.
Kids are awesome.
Loud and Bright 