Collaborating with other teachers and students across the curriculum is a fun and enriching way to help kids learn, and it’s pretty fun for the teachers too! This year was the fourth year that I’ve worked with our 10th grade honors English teacher and his students on an exciting project called “My Personal War.” It’s amazing what young people can create when they are invited to look inside themselves. Our students are encouraged to see, identify and accept vulnerabilities without judgment.
Pat McCloskey, the English teacher, spends several months discussing the concept of personal war. For this thematic unit, his class reads and discusses three novels, The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien and A Separate Peace by John Knowles and The Road by Cormac McCarthy. All address the human conditions of struggle, grief and overcoming physical and mental obstacles, which may be real or perceived. The students are engaged in the topic from a variety of perspectives and Pat brings the experience to a climax by having each student write an essay about their own personal war.
The students’ essays are everything it sounds like they would be…they’re personal, some are intense, some are painful. The topics range from things that have happened to them, (death in the family, illness or abuse) to things that happen because of them (pressure to be the best, overachieving or being unable to prioritize) or things that they perceive as personal shortcomings (weight issues, shyness etc). Many of the students have experienced some sort of closure or resolve to their war, while others are still actively dealing with the issue, and will continue to do so long past the tender age of sixteen. For a few of the students, this essay may be the first healthy exploration into guided introspection that they have been asked to have.
Due to either a class swap or class coverage arranged by our amazing secretary, I enter his English class right after they hand in their papers to introduce what will be the double-whammy to the assignment – a collage. My role is to guide the students to visually articulate the topic of their essay using imagery instead of text. Basically, they must now say the same thing, but in a whole new language! Since many of these kids are non-art students, I show numerous examples of collage, talk about the process and give them pointers and websites to look at to assist their understanding. I also explain how to successfully juxtapose interesting pictures to create visual metaphor.
Four days after I introduce the lesson, I come back to his class for a general critique, where we discuss what’s working and why. I invite the students to come talk to me outside of class to discuss their collage, their process and progress. Many take me up on that offer, which allows me to personally meet students that I might not have ever encountered in one of my art classes. Two days after the in-class critique, the finished collages are due. It’s fast, furious and fantastic!
Mr. McCloskey hands me the students’ essays unread. I photocopy the collages and create what will become the cover sheet to each student’s essay. I print their name and title underneath their image and staple the cover sheet to the student’s written work. After all that, I get to read them! That’s right, the art teacher reads the English papers before the English teacher. The students give Pat permission for me to read their work, (a few decline). I enjoy the opportunity to read the writing that honors level students submit to their English teacher. It helps me know what I should expect from my own students when I require a writing assignment.
Mr. McCloskey spends hours writing back to each of his students, validating them and acknowledging that his or her voice has been heard. He grades the piece of writing as an English teacher, while simultaneously treating each individual like a courageous war hero. It’s one of his strengths and a true gift that he brings to his interactions with his students. I feel honored to be a part of it. I grade the collages based on the overall aesthetic success of the work and consider their effort. The students receive two grades for this cross-curricular experience - one from him and one from me.
Our collaboration began when I approached Pat after reading one of our shared student’s essays. I was so moved by the comments that he took the time to write to her, that I told him that I thought it would make a great collaborative project. It’s been that and so much more!
Every collaborative lesson that I am a part of teaches me how to be a better teacher. And it’s free! In our current world of scores, standards, testing and AYP, I feel like Pat and I are on the same page. We are two different teachers, teaching different disciplines, who together guide students through the art of being human.
