Before I came to Bartlett, I taught 8th grade math and science in Framingham for two years. That school was known in the town as “the weird school.” And there was truth to that, in fact we embraced being known as “the weird school.”
Instead of homeroom, we had something else called Crew. In a typical week, we probably spent a couple hours with our crew. It was a small group, maybe 10 to 12 students. We all sat in a circle and talked and did fun activities. We challenged the other crews in sports, trivia and other games. We got to know each other really well, and most importantly learned to trust each other. What was said in crew stayed in crew.
This was a really big part of the culture of that school. Tight relationships with people you could actually open up to without fear that your business would end up all over the 8th grade. It’s probably hard to imagine, but it worked.
We did things - Every year the 6th grade went did an overnight white water rafting trip each fall. The 8th grade went camping in the spring. We went to Woods Hole on Cape Cod and investigated life on the sea floor from a boat, and another year we went to the far western part of Massachusetts and camped along the Application Trail. (I don’t recall what the 7th grade did).
It was a cool way to do school.
One of my favorite stories from those years:
I was teaching systems of the human body and we had arrived at the last system - digestive. One of my students was absolutely obsessed with Selena Gomez. He could not utter a single sentence without referring to her in some way.
Selena this, Selena that. Did you know Selena…I bet Selena..Did you see Selena at…
You get what I mean, right?
Well, we got to the end of the digestive system, so to speak, and during my lecture I said “Everything poops. Everyone poops,” Then, looking directly in his eyes, I said “Even Selena Gomez poops.”
You should have seen his face!
It was like he thought she was a goddess beyond normal bodily functions. His look was of a dawning realization mixed with a hint of gross disgust. And everyone in the class, knowing of his obsession, turned to see that look on his face.
It was hilarious!