It was my 3rd year of teaching. I was teaching 6th grade. I was in the final stages of my Master’s project, which was to teach my social studies curriculum using the theme, “the History of Communication.” Way back in those days we weren’t required to teach a specific curriculum, we only had the recommended guidelines from the State.
My Master’s program supervisor was coming to observe my class at the midpoint of my project to see how well it was progressing.
The day he came, my class, it was completing the culminating research done on different components of communication throughout the ages. The students were to give oral presentations on the topics that they chose.
My supervisor sat in the back of the classroom as the presentations began. The first few went well. Though their presentations were brief, their content was quite accurate. Then came the following presentations…all in a row.
The first was a report on paper. “Here’s how paper is made. You chop up trees into the size of toothpicks and then mix it with this mushy stuff. You then flatten it into sheets with a rock.”
Next came the report on the Pony Express. “Pony Express riders had to change horses every 10 to 15 feet.” I interjected, “Don’t you mean 10 to 15 miles?” To which the reply was, “My mother tried to tell me that too, no every 10 to 15 feet.”
This was followed by a report on Radio. “Radio Stations come in 2 forms, AM and FM. FM stands for ‘Fine Music’.”
I looked over at my supervisor and watched as he rolled his eyes and shook his head. I was impressed that he could just sit there without breaking into a laugh. I know I might have, had it not been that this observation might impact whether I get my Masters or not.
Needless to say, he had a few suggestions for me as I continued to work on my project and thesis. Luckily for me, he fully understood that these things happen.
As I continued through my teaching career, and yes I did get my Master’s that year, I always made sure that anytime my students were doing any research, they had to cite multiple sources and make sure their information was accurate. After all, I wouldn’t want them to grow up believing “Fake News” was real. Check the facts, check the legitimacy of your sources, and THINK!
