Not Every Day Can be a Tea Party

In my first year of teaching, I taught what I thought was a great lesson on the Boston Tea Party to a group of 8th graders.

As my students were packing up their backpacks and preparing to leave I overheard a student say to one of her friends, "We should have a tea party like that! Pretty dresses and cool hats!" I thought about what had happened, and how I had covered the material, and realized it wasn't good enough. I went out that night and purchased a 100 pack of Lipton tea bags, re-arranged my tables to be "ships" and the next day held my class in the hallway until the bell. I gave a 30-second review of what had happened, then we proceeded to storm my classroom and throw the tea into buckets of water I had placed around the room. They got the idea and I was very pleased with their level of interaction and understanding.

If you were to ask those students today (They would be 28-29 years old...wait...what?! That can't be right!!)

***Pushes Ibuprofin out of the way to check the calendar......***
Nope. That's right. ANYWAY...those students might have only remembered one thing from my teaching that year, and that would be the lesson on the Boston Tea Party.

Not every day can be that.
Not every lesson can be fun, engaging, and interactive.
I wish that it could, but it's an impossibility. I have come to realize that fact and now share it openly with my students.  Being honest with them helps them mentally prepare for the lesson and also gives me credibility.

Don't get me wrong, I would love to teach lessons like the Boston Tea Party every day!
When we have those days, students are happy to learn and happy to engage in whatever we are doing.

When we don't have those days, my students know that they won't be throwing tea, hitching wagons, or developing the Alamo defenses out of their desks, and I find that they are more receptive and introspective.

For example, we are learning about the 14th amendment right now, and it's very detailed and technical in its writing and application. It's difficult to make it "exciting." However, by leading with the idea that "this isn't a Tea Party day" my students are okay with it. They know that I like to get them out of their seats and try different projects, so when we can't, it's almost as if they understand that the importance of the topic is increased and are more focused.

I will keep working on ways to make my lessons engaging both mentally and physically. I am a firm believer that my 8th graders should be moving, talking, and creating. Now that we have learned about the 14th amendment, maybe it's time to turn my room into the Supreme Court...