With Apologies to Noel Coward, A Plea During the Week Before Spring Break!

Don’t pull your daughter out of school, Mrs. Worthington

Don’t pull your daughter out of school

She is already confounded

This class’s pretty tough

And admitting the fact that she can’t subtract

If that isn’t reason enough

She’s a nice girl and though her grades are just fair

She’s not the type that can rebound and retool

I repeat, Mrs. Worthington, sweet Mrs. Worthington

Don’t pull your daughter out of school!

Regarding yours, dear Mrs. Worthington

Of the week before the break

Although you got a great deal on the flight

I won’t give up the fight since we can’t teach her to write

If you make her disappear, Mrs. Worthington

It is beyond absurd

Why in reality would you unilaterally take her away, missing those days

And setting her back weeks!

Don’t pull your daughter out of school, Mrs. Worthington

Don’t pull your daughter out of school

She’s a bit of a slow starter, you must honestly confess

And the quality of her work would surely defeat

Her chances of her success

It’s not that she doesn’t exactly excel in class

But missing before break, she’ll be April’s fool

On my knees, Mrs. Worthington, please Mrs. Worthington

Don’t pull your daughter out of school

Don’t pull your daughter out of school, Mrs. Worthington

Don’t pull your daughter out of school

Though they showed movies before break

At the junior high last year

I’m afraid, missing class, she’ll not pass, we don’t do that here.
She’ll come back with a tan, from her two weeks in Cannes

But by missing a week, she’ll not swim but sink!

No more buts, Mrs. Worthington, nuts! Mrs. Worthington

Don’t pull your daughter out of school!

My Letter to the Legislator

Dear Legislator,

Thank you for your service. Thank you for all you do for the United States and all of us. It cannot be easy to be in your role. You must receive countless communications that ask, demand, threaten, or beg. I don’t think I can imagine the sort of uncomfortable dilemmas that you must face regularly.

I am a high school teacher. My wife is a high school counselor. Like you, we are public servants. Like you, we do our best to serve our kids and our community. Like you, we are often servant to masters who don’t agree and with whom we sometimes disagree.

While I may agree with you on some issues and disagree on others, this letter is not for or against any particular policy. However, in one respect, this letter is going to be like the others; I do have a request: I hope it is something you are already doing.

This email is not to ask you to support or reject any particular rule, bill, or action. It is not to yell, scream, beg, or complain. It is to ask you to do the right thing, to listen to your inner conscience, your sense of duty and morality and to act from that center.

I urge you to hold the historic values of democracy and the United States close when you make decisions that affect so many, to remain true to the values that are the foundation of our nation. I urge you to make sure that the legislative and decision-making processes are fair, honest, transparent, and forthright – and that they serve the long-term interests of our country. Please build bridges and be inclusive. Please investigate questions that pose dangers to our countries and find clear and objective answers.

You must be pulled in many directions. At times, you are asked, for political reasons, to support and defend things that you think are wrong. I implore you to take the time to consider, research, listen, and learn. My biggest mistakes are when I have moved too quickly, rushed into decisions, or allowed loud voices to pressure me into doing things that did not sit well with me.

Consider your legacy. Look at the leaders of the twentieth century; while their policies and actions are remembered, they are heightened or tainted by their moral character. We remember what they did, but how and why they did took those actions is what fills the history books.

I know you know this. You don’t need a letter reminding you. However, given all the communications you receive and all the burdens put upon you, I wanted to make sure that a voice in that enormous chorus was singing with you on this very important note.

Once again, thank you for your service, and thank you for, even sometimes in the face of great pressure and price, maintaining your integrity and our great country.

Yours sincerely,

David A. Hirsch

Beating the Third Quarter Blues

Third quarter is long, dark, and cold. The excitement of the beginning of the school year has been forgotten. In fact, we all now know each other so well that it feels as if we have been in class together five-ever.

Second quarter feels like the incline before the first big thrill on the rollercoaster. The honeymoon is over, and we are well into the real work. It is challenging and intense. It ends with the winter holidays and winter break with great relief and celebration.

And then we return for third quarter. The winter holiday decorations have been taken down. If any are still dangling, they seem like a sad reminder of past joy. The temperatures plunge into subzero. The school courtyards are closed. The sting of finals doesn’t go away quickly.

Like the third volume in a four-part series, the third quarter has little of its own story. In class, we work on new texts, but old skills. Very little is truly new and, no matter how I try to inject novelty and excitement, the lessons are bridges between the introductions of first semester and the challenges that await us in the spring.

So what is to be done? How do we beat the third quarter blues? Here are a few suggestions:

Games: Third quarter brings more than March Madness and, by the time that rolls along, madness may be too tame a word. My Freshman English students love playing the Sunday puzzle on NPR’s Weekend Edition. These are little challenges and joys that provide us with a dessert after wrestling with Shakespeare. In theatre class, be begin an improvisation unit where we can play both completive and collaborative theatre games that make us laugh.

Student Choice: My freshmen work hard to understand Shakespeare. During third quarter, they get to make Shakespeare do what they want him to do! They create puppet shows, parodies, graphic novels, and Shakespeare talk shows. Most of these are on video and treat our very British and revered literary texts to a good dose of satire, humor, slapstick, and healthy irreverence.

Get Moving: Getting students out of their desks is always important, but during third quarter it is critical. Whether it is enacting the play we are reading, working in small groups, using large paper and drawing on the floor, or cutting out words from newspapers and magazines to create ransom note poems, students will be able to fight the third quarter blues better if their bodies and minds are in motion.

Reflecting and Renewing:  My Senior English class writes graduation speeches during third quarter. These students are so focused on finishing their high school careers that third quarter can be a horrible tease: it is in the way of getting to May! Reflecting back on their high school years, collecting memories, and realizing how much they have changed and grown brings an appreciation of the journey when they only want to see its end.

Life Beyond School: All of us, teachers, students, parents, and others, need to balance our work life with our other roles. During third quarter, we feel like Tantalus rolling a rock up a hill only to have it come crashing down when the job is almost complete. Sharing our non-school lives not only enhances our relationships but also reminds us that our world is bigger than schoolwork. Kids light up when they talk about their passions. A few moments to celebrate the teams, shows, games, and other non-academic parts of our lives can be the sugar that makes third quarter go down.

Some would say that the best thing about third quarter is that it ends – with spring break! We return and it truly feels like spring, even if it is wet, gray, and muddy. Fourth quarter is the last lap to the finish line and we are eager to complete the year’s work. We can live through third quarter with games, choice, movement, reflection, perspective, and lots and lots of laughter!