Blink has been an interesting book to read. I’ve read it with my Honors sophomore English classes, and it can’t be like anything they’ve read before. Well, at least not in an English class. But the deal with Common Core, or one of the deals, is the idea of introducing more non-fiction to kids. Blink definitely ticks that box.
Some kids might know the author Malcolm Gladwell. Okay, they don’t, but he does put himself out there. I see him on talk shows, he has a web page, he writes a ton of books, and some should have heard of Outliers, which is fairly popular in its many circles. Our district has ordered enough of Gladwell’s books because each grade level is supposed to read a different one.
I have to believe that almost all my students think of non-fiction as some sort of biography or autobiography, maybe something historical that takes a different point of view to something of previous knowledge. But Blink has had many moments that talk of the human condition, of science, of the way we see the world in the blink of an eye (hence the title). It’s been interesting, even if eight of my students are yet to check out the book. It’s also anecdotal, so even though it’s something they may not be used to textually, they can make the connections.
I read Chapter Three this weekend, which was about Warren Harding. Gladwell, and others, claimed that he was so good-looking, carried himself so well, and nodded and smiled at the right times, that he just HAD to end up being President. Fellow colleague Bryce Hadley has argued this point (as have I) when it comes to star athletes and CEO’s of companies–they’re mostly good-looking people. Go on, think of all those ugly, high-performing professional athletes. I’ll give you a minute or two, for the list will not be that long.
Yeah, but then I thought about teaching, and what a teacher looks like. Or the way a teacher acts in class, or how they grade, or what they know, or what they do when they’re not teaching. There is one area where teachers are pretty similar–many like to spend their time during breaks away from school travelling this fine world. In that sense, many of us share a like desire.
I was told in college that I had a 2% teacher chance, based on personality and whatever else. That sounds about right. I believe in showing up on time, never taking sick days, confusing my students, and whatever other blah blah blah I do in class that keeps kids signing up en masse every year, always with more students signed up than I have a place for in seats. Maybe every school needs that 2%-er to be the “other” choice for students.
But what do teachers look like? Are they all the Warren Hardings of the world? I see a lot of tired people, but I suppose we all don’t have to be President. We just have to be competent, the highest rating our district gives us. Maybe a politician can pick up on that and run–Strength in Competence.
Oh, and maybe a song to go with it.