The Big Dance in Room 211

     I have always liked learning about the origins of words and ideas, so as basketball season comes to an end, I did a little research recently on the term "the Big Dance." In 1977, Marquette's basketball coach, Al McGuire, wore a bright blue suit to many of the games. A reporter asked him if he would wear that same suit during the NCAA tournament. "Absolutely. You gotta wear the blue blazer when you go to the big dance," he said. That year, Marquette won the NCAA championship, and the term "the Big Dance" somehow stuck.  I don't know much about Al McGuire, but I know he was extremely forward in his thinking. And I like the way he thought in metaphors.

Al McGuire winning the 1977 basketball championship

 

The 1977 Marquette NCAA Championship Team

     Continuing with this dance metaphor, I've seen leaders in all different capacities in my life, particularly on the dance floor. I'll never forget the dance I had with my dad on my wedding day. As the music started, he led me onto the dance floor and quietly began to talk to me. He told me stories from every stage of my life, arriving at the present day when the song ended. I laughed and smiled and cried as he talked. It's a moment I will never forget. How lucky I was to have him as a dance partner in that moment.

My dad and I on my wedding day

In my four decades on this Earth, I've had my fair share of dance partners. Some stepped on my toes. Others let me lead inadvertently. Some were incredibly graceful and handsome while others were not so polite. Some danced the funky chicken and other nine-year old sons I know have taught me how to do the Fortnite dance known as Orange Justice (I still need to practice that one according to the nine year-old). The older I get, the more I realize the value of finding good dance partners--finding people to lead me in the right direction, people who know my story and are willing to help me live it sometimes by leading and sometimes by following, people who are forward in their thinking like Al McGuire, innovative.

     As a teacher, I often feel like I am leading the dance. I'd like to feel like it's a dance with sophisticated moves, but recently, I feel like I've gone from being a steady dance partner to one who can barely get the rhythm down for the cupid shuffle. You see, this year, my classroom has drastically changed. At the end of last year, the Hanover Education Foundation awarded me a grant of $15,000 to model a classroom of the future. Eight whiteboard tables, 15 iPads, 24 laptops, and a portable green screen later, my room was physically transformed. Every time I turn the key and open the door to Room 211, I am in awe of what it looks like, and more importantly, I am forever grateful to the Hanover Education Foundation and their local business partners for making this a reality for me. I had a vision for what I wanted to do with this technology and newly renovated room, but I had no idea that I wouldn't necessarily be leading the dance.

     You see, it hasn't been the technology or the innovative, collaborative space that has revolutionized my classroom. You, my students have done that this year. You have taken the dry erase tables as a means to collaborate with each other. You have planned all sorts of projects on those tables; they've become a community space.

My favorite moments of the year were when you sat down together as a class to have a family dinner (B2, this picture still makes me smile)

B2 Family Dinner

and the notes of positivity you leave one another in between classes.

       We've done some innovative projects using the iPads and green screen, including TOK class having an on-line pen pal program with first graders from Pearson's Corner Elementary School.  In Al McGuire fashion, the term green screen has somehow become a verb in Room 211. "Mrs. Pace, can we green screen this?" one of you asked me one day. It somehow stuck.

The daily use of technology in class has been a breath of fresh air but also petrifying at the same time. You see, a huge learning curve has come with this classroom. I've taken risks as a teacher I might not have taken had I not been granted this opportunity. Quite often I have felt like I was leading you in an off beat dance instead of a graceful waltz. And many times, I've had to give up as the lead dance partner, and you, my students, have become the leaders in this classroom. The perfect example is the mock trial we most recently had where we put Victor Frankenstein on trial. I was a mere spectator, and the class was completely run by you, my students.  You did everything from report on the trial, to swear in the witnesses, to serve as the judge.

My hope for you is to keep leading. Keep dancing.

      My senior TOK students have made portfolios of their CAS experiences in the form of websites. Each is an innovative look at their creativity, activity, and service over the past eighteen months. You are true leaders in this. Because of you, there are sports programs with more cleats than they know what to do with and a homeless shelter filled with blankets and a new floor. Because of you, over $3000 was raised for the special needs community. Because of you children in hospitals will have a better stay. Because of you, less affluent areas in the city of Richmond now know how to swim and have the equipment to do so. Because of you, blood drives were organized and young girls grew due to your gymnastics expertise. Because of you, I have seen what true leadership is. Please keep leading your generation in your own big dance. Your ideas and leadership are so necessary.

     In the twenty years I've been in the classroom, I've come to find that teaching can be hard and messy and a much more complicated dance than anticipated. Room 211 certainly doesn't look like a traditional classroom anymore. I may not always be leading the pack, but that's okay. Teachers can learn just as much as their students. When I got into teaching over twenty years ago, never did I think that my students would have anything to teach me. How wrong I was; I'm learning every day, and my students are leading the way on the dance floor.

     To my students, I'll leave you with this: we have nine weeks left together. Continue to find good dance partners; find people in life to lead you in the right direction. When given the choice, I hope you continue to lead. I hope you continue to explore innovative ideas like Al McGuire did wearing that bright blue suit many years ago when he coined the term "the Big Dance." And most importantly, I hope you always continue to dance.