Lesson Planning Should be More like Pictionary

My name is Daniel Romero. I am an English teacher at Millennium Art Academy in the Bronx. I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Sometimes I have no idea what I am going to teach until the kids are about fifteen minutes away from my classroom. For example, it's 8:05 AM and I'm still unsure what to teach today, November 24, 2009.

Here are my options:
I'm in the middle of the Ramayana with my kids. I could continue with chapter 3 and pretend that I had it planned all along. I already made a study packet for my kids. All I have to say is open up to page five of the study packet.

I also just graded their unit 1 exams. I could just review the entire exam, but that is boring and the truth is they probably won't care anyway.

Thanksgiving is two days away. I could show the Ramayana cartoon with cheesy British voice over work. Unfortunately my principal wants bell-to-bell, day-to-day instruction. In other words, NO MOVIES! Hell, I can’t even turn off the lights in my room anymore. The administration doesn’t like it when the lights are off, not a suitable learning environment.

Since we’re on the issue of suitable learning environments, let’s be honest, the Bronx itself isn’t a suitable learning environment. I don't think that the issue here lies with my lesson planning ability. This is an issue of student apathy. They don't care. It makes me not want to care. I wish I could say it was just my class and that I needed to improve my teaching, but that is not the case. The students don't care about the majority of their classes, with the exception of art.

If only drawing was part of the ELA regents. If only they didn’t have to write essays about literature. Then that would be wondrous. Imagine it, an entire generation that communicates with crude drawings and occasional words. It would like Pictionary EVERY DAY!

Aim: What makes beautiful?

Do Now: In your about a you someone.


Lesson planning should be more like .
Let me , you get the ...