The Milgram Experiment

I recently read an article that referenced the famous Milgram Experiment. I loved teaching this experiment to try to determine how students would act in a similar situation. In short, the experiment had Yale students shock a volunteer to test the link between electric shock and memory. The voltage increases each time the volunteer gets a question wrong. What the Yale students did not know was that they were the real experiment. The "volunteers" were actors. Stanley Milgram wanted to see how far people would go in hurting someone while acting under "orders" from a higher authority. The results were amazing and researchers throughout the world have studied the ethics of the experiment itself and the results.

In a similar study referenced within the article, a graduate professor asks banking students how they would respond if asked by a Senior Associate to fudge reports to show a client that they are doing better than they actually are doing. Most quickly respond that they would seek to talk with the Senior Associate about the ethics of the decision. When the role-play has the Senior Associate stick to the request, most students fall into two camps. They either comply with the request or resign from the job. What the researcher is really looking for is a third option. Very few students are creative enough to look for an alternate means of getting around the request such as speaking with a higher authority or another Senior Associate. These people are the creative problem solvers that the professor is looking for. Strangely enough, those people are a rare as the Yale students that refused to continue the shock experiment.

The Milgram Experiment taught us a lot about human nature. From the outside, it is easy for us to think that we are among the few that would react differently, but in practice, we can get caught up in our routine and what we think is normal. Take some time to really think about your practice. Do the things that you do really agree with your beliefs as an educator. Don't be afraid to be the rogue that steps out of the norm. Those are the teachers that are often remembered.

Getting Back to Good

Tonight's football game is a big deal for Greene Central. More than that, it is a big deal for Greene County and for our school system. On the surface, it's a rivalry football game and at the end, one team will emerge unbeaten and another will lick their wounds and seek to find a way to win down the road in the playoffs. More importantly than a football game is the community support behind Greene Central and the rest of Greene County Schools. Before the game even begins tonight, I think that it is important to acknowledge how we got here.

Several years ago Greene Central was struggling in more ways than one. The school was recognized as a low performing school in the state. Our graduation rate was well below the state average. Teacher turnover was high and morale was low. Who really knows how things got that way. Truthfully, it was probably a combination of many different factors that plague high poverty schools and school systems. On top of that, sports programs that receive a lot of press (like football) were not doing very well either. If memory serves me correctly, the season before Coach Wooten took over was winless. Those of you that have worked for the school for many years remember that time.

I was lucky enough to join the school (like most of you) during the upswing and I have seen the emotional struggle that getting back to good has caused. People, young and old, tend to wear their beliefs about themselves and their community. Much like a child labeled as "bad" will continue to misbehave, this community has struggled to forget that we once were not what we wanted to be. But things are changing.

This school year I have seen more community support for our school and our students than ever before. While the attention from the press for both athletics and academics has been exhausting at times, it is worth the time and effort to rally the community. When I thought up the theme of Teaching Grit, I could have never imagined or scripted an event like tonight's game. Win or lose, tonight is about grit. It took grit to get here. It will take grit to move on. The work has been tough, time consuming and exhausting. Tempers have flared. Tears were cried. Despite the struggle, the tide has turned. While we will always have students with issues and parents that disagree with us, wins and losses on any field, we are indeed, getting back to good.

Us

So maybe you guessed it. A post about you, a post about me and now a post about us. Really "us" is what homecoming is all about. We belong to a unit that is Greene Central High School. No matter if you grew up here and attended the school as a student, just arrived this year, or even went to a rival high school like I did, you are a part of us now. The "us" component of our school is what really makes it work. Students working with students. Teachers working with teachers. Teachers and students working together. The celebration of Homecoming brings us together to acknowledge what makes us unique. As exhausted as we all are, please enjoy today. We celebrate it for all of us.

Me

Last week I wrote about you. This week I'm going to write about someone else that struggles...me. This time of the year is hard for all educators, not just teachers. Balancing the many things that go on at the school day-to-day often means coming home, getting a bite to eat, working some more and passing out on the couch by 9:00. The look that I  have been coming home with finally prompted my wife to ask if I was ok. While I get that a lot from her, this time she had real meaning in her voice. I needed a dose of my own medicine. I needed a pep talk to get me back into the right frame of mind about school and about myself.

I said last week that teachers are gritty. Sometimes we are gritty to a fault. One of my mentors used to have a phrase that I have stolen from time to time. His rule was to "take care of yourself and take care of each other." Taking care of yourself sometimes means to put down the work when you get home to enjoy those few hours with friends and family. Taking care of each other sometimes just means accepting each others faults and helping each other anyway. So as I give myself advice this week, please learn from my mistake; take care of yourself and take care of each other. Without both parties, this place would fall apart pretty quickly.

You

Last week I had trouble determining what to write about. The soccer team saved me by coming up with a big win and delivering a great story. In contrast, this week I have no shortage of things to write about. I could easily stick to my athletics theme and write about Greene Central receiving an Ejection-Free Season award at the annual regional athletics meeting. (Coach Bass was so proud!) I could write about Joey Sanders and the grit he shows by showing up to school despite his cancer and the tremendous show of support our school has given to this brave young man. I could write about the annual Meet You at the Pole prayer this week and the fact that students and staff can stand side-by-side and pray together for our school and all students and staff within it. I can talk about Mrs. Vernon and the Real World group and how she is working so hard to make a difference with some of our toughest students.

Instead this week, I'm going to talk about a group that could be struggling...you. The start of October is usually one of the toughest times to be a teacher. The newness has worn off. Students show their bad habits and the job gets hard. Add to that, you have a million other things to do that only distract you from doing your job in the classroom. You don't have to say it. I can see it on your faces. Some days are just tough to get through. But you do it.

While I try to be supportive, I know that I am not always an easy person to work for. I ask a lot of you. I want teachers that are self-driven, motivated for change and never happy with "good enough." If you are reading this, then that's you. Never short change how amazing you are and how good you are at a seemingly impossible task. You are here for a reason. YOU ARE GRITTY! You make a difference and that means the world to our young people. Thank you for the grit that you show by being at teacher at Greene Central.