An English teacher friend of mine was reminding her class that Anne Boleyn was pregnant before marrying Henry VIII. Immediately, a student I taught last year piped up and joked that they needed to rename her Anne Blow-lyn. I saw this student in the hall today and asked him about his inappropriate joke. He made an interesting point: “No one will ever forget that Anne Boleyn was pregnant before getting married.” I had no response because he was right.
This got me thinking on my long commute home from school: Is there any way I can use this new idea to my advantage? Could I tie the million standards I have to teach to something violent or profane? Would that make any difference in my test scores?
Every year I have to remind students what alliteration is. But what if I used the Ben Folds Five song “Give Me My Money Back” to teach it? Those of you who are familiar with the song know how he repeats the “b” sound. That could lead to a more advanced discussion of how the harsh “b” sound contributes to his angry tone. THEN I could explain that while the tone is angry, the mood is humorous. What a great lesson! And they would probably always remember alliteration, tone, and mood.
But alas. I work in a rural school district where such teaching practices would get me fired. Actually, I think they’d get me fired no matter where I was teaching. Too bad. I bet my test scores would be AWESOME.
