At the time of posting this blog, the final exam is within three weeks. It is an exciting time to be a 7.1 student, even if they fail to recognize it. I believe that this is such an exciting time because we are in this intense drive to gain more knowledge, foster more understanding, and delve deeper into the Constitution. Each day in class exposes some new aspect of this document, and similar to the rose that opens only to illuminate the world with more complexity and intricacy, we end each class with more understanding and wonderment about its broad applications into the real world. I think that students are beginning to sense more power in what they are learning and the byproduct of this empowerment is the ability to raise more questions and seek to understand more of the world around them. There are few topics in middle school that possess this combination of wonderment and empowerment like the Constitution.
Yet, like all challenging topics, there is much within the Constitution that cannot be afforded to be deferred or put aside. One need only read Langston Hughes to recognize what the consequence of such a poor decision is. I believe that 7.1 students have to be vigilant of the Final Exam, of which the Constitution is a significant part. I believe that vigilance should not be confused with paralysis. If students take an active role in doing the best they can to reckon with a formidable adversary, then I believe that they will stand a better chance in defeating it. Naturally, studying and reviewing each night the concepts associated with the Constitution would be one such avenue where students can demonstrate a level of intellectual maturity. Another venue would be the policy of “stockpiling” points towards their grades in Social Studies. This would allow them the opportunity to protect their grade in the event of a showing on the exam that falls short of their high standards. This can be done in a myriad of ways. Completing nightly assignments, completing extra credit tasks, utilizing the skills of advocacy to secure more points towards their grade, and even entering the classroom with a sense of focus are all potential avenues that can be marched down with a strong and purposeful cadence. I would say that the last avenue has been the most revealing. I have seen a strong tendency in the nature of our students to await instruction in the entering of the classroom. Rather than fritter away the first five or six minutes of class, I have seen students enter the room and pay attention to an instruction that yields extra credit opportunity and actively seek it. This has resulted in syllabi that have become quite weighty with points at the end of the week. I stand by this appropriation of points for if students can acquire the habit of seeing classtime as an exercise of focus and actively embrace it, they should be recognized for such a professional demeanor. We are reaching a point in the year where our students are closer to the end of their journeys than the beginnings of it. Students must be challenged to achieve more for there is more expected from them. They are no longer the young cherubs that they might have been at the start of the year. They are entering the domain of leadership, increased responsibility, and greater perils associated with maturity. In honoring the trait of professionalism in our students, we seek to honor the best in what it means to be a scholar.
An icon of the 1980s, Gordon Gekko seems to loom large in my mind when I sense how students should approach class in the next three weeks. Standing in front of a group of corporate shareholders who seek nothing more than an answer to the question of how he intends to make more money for the company (and, of course, himself) he takes the microphone in that jet black suit and white shirt and looks into the eyes of an auditorium as well as a nation as he says, “Greed, for lack of a better word, is good, Greed is right.” He continues to expound on this philosophy and in his explanation, I believe we find the 7.1 Social Studies student right now, at this point in their lives: “Greed in all its forms: Greed for love, greed for knowledge, greed for life, greed for understanding. Greed captures and clarifies the essence of humanity. Greed is what will fix not only this corporation, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the U.S. of A.” While the model of corporate irresponsibility is reprehensible, and as our President stated this past week, represents “the height of irresponsibility,” I hope our students embrace Gekko’s vision of a world where students pursue a greed for knowledge, for points, for understanding, for seeking to develop a better vision of the world and their place in it. I believe that this notion of “greed” will allow our students a better chance to grasp “the good, the true, and the beautiful.”
All best and happy hunting.
Mr. Kannan
Yet, like all challenging topics, there is much within the Constitution that cannot be afforded to be deferred or put aside. One need only read Langston Hughes to recognize what the consequence of such a poor decision is. I believe that 7.1 students have to be vigilant of the Final Exam, of which the Constitution is a significant part. I believe that vigilance should not be confused with paralysis. If students take an active role in doing the best they can to reckon with a formidable adversary, then I believe that they will stand a better chance in defeating it. Naturally, studying and reviewing each night the concepts associated with the Constitution would be one such avenue where students can demonstrate a level of intellectual maturity. Another venue would be the policy of “stockpiling” points towards their grades in Social Studies. This would allow them the opportunity to protect their grade in the event of a showing on the exam that falls short of their high standards. This can be done in a myriad of ways. Completing nightly assignments, completing extra credit tasks, utilizing the skills of advocacy to secure more points towards their grade, and even entering the classroom with a sense of focus are all potential avenues that can be marched down with a strong and purposeful cadence. I would say that the last avenue has been the most revealing. I have seen a strong tendency in the nature of our students to await instruction in the entering of the classroom. Rather than fritter away the first five or six minutes of class, I have seen students enter the room and pay attention to an instruction that yields extra credit opportunity and actively seek it. This has resulted in syllabi that have become quite weighty with points at the end of the week. I stand by this appropriation of points for if students can acquire the habit of seeing classtime as an exercise of focus and actively embrace it, they should be recognized for such a professional demeanor. We are reaching a point in the year where our students are closer to the end of their journeys than the beginnings of it. Students must be challenged to achieve more for there is more expected from them. They are no longer the young cherubs that they might have been at the start of the year. They are entering the domain of leadership, increased responsibility, and greater perils associated with maturity. In honoring the trait of professionalism in our students, we seek to honor the best in what it means to be a scholar.
An icon of the 1980s, Gordon Gekko seems to loom large in my mind when I sense how students should approach class in the next three weeks. Standing in front of a group of corporate shareholders who seek nothing more than an answer to the question of how he intends to make more money for the company (and, of course, himself) he takes the microphone in that jet black suit and white shirt and looks into the eyes of an auditorium as well as a nation as he says, “Greed, for lack of a better word, is good, Greed is right.” He continues to expound on this philosophy and in his explanation, I believe we find the 7.1 Social Studies student right now, at this point in their lives: “Greed in all its forms: Greed for love, greed for knowledge, greed for life, greed for understanding. Greed captures and clarifies the essence of humanity. Greed is what will fix not only this corporation, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the U.S. of A.” While the model of corporate irresponsibility is reprehensible, and as our President stated this past week, represents “the height of irresponsibility,” I hope our students embrace Gekko’s vision of a world where students pursue a greed for knowledge, for points, for understanding, for seeking to develop a better vision of the world and their place in it. I believe that this notion of “greed” will allow our students a better chance to grasp “the good, the true, and the beautiful.”
All best and happy hunting.
Mr. Kannan
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