Mr Blair's Classroom

"How's marking all those papers? They must take days to get through." They do. Traditionally, "those papers" have monopolized my freetime and a significant portion of my mental load. They are my boulder. As an English teacher, I have oft felt like Sisyphus pushing his cursed boulder to the very top of the hill only to have it roll back to the bottom again, over and over again,  for eternity.  Push. Roll. Push. Roll. Push. Roll. Mark. Return. Mark. Return. Mark. Return. Same process, different boulder. Finish marking thirty papers and thirty more appear on my desk. Mark. Return. Mark. Return. One could not possibly imagine this Sisyphus smiling.  Upon receiving their marked projects, students typically responded in two ways: they would glance at the feedback, nod their head, and tuck the paper into the bottomless abyss of their backpacks or they would glance at the mark, shake their head, and cast the paper in the recycling bin. Both reactions did not suggest pro...

While Climate Change is rightfully considered humanity's greatest current existential threat (If you can briefly close your eyes to our current Covid-19 pandemic), the infodemic threatens much of what humanity holds dear: democracy, education, and even our own health. For those unacquainted, the infodemic refers to the continuous assault faced by society's information ecosystem. Truth has been pitted against a constant barrage of misinformation, conspiracy theories, and utter lies. So, what can we do about it? Like I tell my students, "Don't stop at the problem. Find a solution." Something needs to change if we are going to defeat this hydra of misinformation: one conspiracy theory gets debunked five more take its place. Society requires solutions and requires them soon. I believe our students have the capacity to be agents of change. We just need to give them a chance. With that in mind, there,  undoubtedly, exists precedent for teens changing the world. Greta Th...

Like most, the American Election results monopolized both my television and my mind. Like most, the Trump vs. Biden Presidential Race occupied too much of my mental real estate. I had lessons to plan and projects to mark, but I couldn't take my eyes off that screen. After awhile, I found it staring back at me. Pablo Picasso's haunting 1937 painting, "Guernica", spontaneously flashed across my mind. Black. White. Grey. Pain. Chaos. Pandemonium. Why? I honestly wasn't sure. Maybe my students could help? The following day, I projected the following provocation up on the board, alongside an image of the painting: "Why might Mr. Blair have thought about Pablo Picasso's "Guernica" while watching the election results?" Their answers astounded me. Creative and critical thinking were on full display. I posed a question that has likely never been asked in history. In turn, several students responded like they had been waiting to answer su...