My “Horace” series paid homage to Theodore Sizer and his insights into the weaknesses of the 19th-century model we still have in most American high schools. Sizer’s composite teacher, “Horace,” mirrored everything I’ve learned in more than three decades of classroom teaching.
This weekly column will look at lists of books kids are reading in various categories, including grade level, book genre and data from booksellers. Information on the books below came from the New York Times Book Review, Nov. 8, 2009.
Top 10 Best-selling Children’s Paperback Books
1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Ages 14 and up)
2. Three Cups of Tea: Young Readers Edition by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Ages 9-12)
3. Dark Visions by L.J. Smith (Ages 14 and up)
4. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (Ages 12 and up)
5. Blue Moon by Alyson Noel (Ages 12 and up)
6. Graceling by Kristin Cashore (Ages 14 and up)
7. Evermore by Alyson Noel (Ages 12 and up)
8. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs: Junior Novelization by Stacia Deutsch and Rhody Cohon (Ages 9-12)
9. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne (Ages 12 and up)
10. Thirst No. 1 by Christopher Pike (Ages 14 and up)
But I wouldn’t have been spared any frustrations with the system if I’d read the Horace books before my first day on the job. There is no way to fully prepare for the realities of the high school world.
The biggest reality check is the principal. In grade school, I learned the two spellings of “principal” and “principle” by remembering that “the principal is your PAL.” That almost never held true for me in the three schools where I taught.
Of seven principals in 23 years, only one was my “pal,” or even had my back. The other six ranged from mediocre to criminal. One was fired, and two were bullies. But even the worst of those principals had good points, and we all learned to take advantage of strengths and tiptoe around weaknesses.
Sometimes, though, I had to take a stand. My third principal refused to take seriously my objection to the yearbook contest electing the female senior with the “best buns.” He argued that “buns” were just body parts, no more suggestive than “best eyes” or “biggest brain.” We wound up shouting at one another in the main office, and I stomped off, realizing I’d lost the argument. (Time took care of the problem, though. The intervening 20 years have eliminated all those sexist contest categories.)
During that time I have locked horns with principals over their lack of support for interdisciplinary courses, over their treatment of other members of the English department, and over the way some have ignored the flagrant incompetence of a few teachers or administrators. But despite those issues, principals have rarely been on my radar screen. They are usually busy with bigger problems, so teachers learn to simply wait out any kerfuffles that come their way. The people teachers need to keep an eye on are their students!
Still, a supportive principal can be an enormous asset to a teacher — we just can’t count on it happening very often. We need to find our own sources of support. Family is a big one. Also, fellow teachers understand school frustrations better than anyone. But the greatest support may be the one least utilized by teachers: parents. I have written several columns on how parental backing was critical in the continuation of my difficult-to-schedule interdisciplinary course at Oakton. Parents know what their children need and like, and are willing to go to great lengths to support efforts to achieve that. And principals are usually more responsive to parental concerns than to teacher lobbying. Parents can be teachers’ best friends.
There is a wide range of competence in administrators, and new teachers can’t anticipate how that will play out in practice. But here’s a consoling thought: I often notice that principals I don’t get along with have a short tenure with the school anyway. In the final analysis, teachers have to continue to do what’s good for their students; that’s always the best defense.
Erica Jacobs, whose column appears Wednesday, teaches at George Mason University. E-mail her at [email protected].
