Teaching and Reaching Tyrone

Today I had one of those breakthroughs that teachers love.  I have a student we’ll call Tyrone (remember, I said I wouldn’t use real names).  Let me describe Tyrone to you.  He looks and carries himself a lot like Biggie Smalls (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Notorious_B.I.G.).  He is good natured, clever, and extremely funny, although I have heard that he can be disrespectful in other classes (I haven’t seen this side of him).  On the academic side, he tends to speak and write with the rhythmic flow of the aspiring rapper that he is, shunning Standard English at all costs, even on formal assignments.  He rarely brings basic supplies and materials to class (even a pen is a rarity); he balls up or folds important papers and leaves them everywhere except for in his binder; his writing is sometimes illegible and always full of phonetic or alternative spellings of words (I suspect he has an undiagnosed learning disability); he admits to hating books; he has zero academic support at home (he has said that his mother hated school just as much as he does and that she avoids teachers); and the list of problems goes on and on.  In short, this is the kind of kid who really makes us earn our pay. 

Tyrone and I have always had a good rapport, despite his academic problems.  I tease him relentlessly, and he returns the favor.  I make it a point to encourage him often and celebrate his successes whenever I can.  I also try to think of ways to make the material accessible to him and allow his creativity to shine.  For his part, he always comes to class (even though he is seldom prepared) and he says that mine is the only English class he’s ever learned anything in, even though he has managed to fail every quarter so far for not turning in work.  All in all, I enjoy teaching him even as he frustrates me to no end, and he and I both know that we are in each other’s corner.  

For the last few weeks of the year, I am teaching my students how to be trial lawyers as a way of reviewing persuasion techniques.  Using materials from a trial practice course I took in law school, we are conducting a full blown murder trial. The students have been given a complete case file, complete with police report, hearing transcripts, diagrams, medical reports, etc., and they will write and deliver opening statements, direct and cross examinations of witnesses, and closing arguments.  All students will do the work of lawyers leading up to the mock trial, at which point students will be assigned various roles to play.  I wanted to end the year on a challenging note, and this stuff is pretty sophisticated.  It is also engaging enough to keep the kids fairly together in these final moments of the year.

Well, Tyrone blew me away today.  This kid, who NEVER does any work at home, showed up in my classroom this morning bragging about how he has already figured out the whole case and that he plans on destroying the other side at trial.  I was skeptical until he whipped out his marked up file, organized and detailed notes (color-coded, no less), and accurate recall of minute facts that even I had overlooked.  His level of preparation reminded me of the way that my classmates and I prepared in LAW SCHOOL!  The students shared some of their work orally, and some students actually clapped for Tyrone after he shared his thoughts.  Believe me: he’s not used to that.  At the end of class, he told me that he was going to be the next Johnny Cochran.  It took almost 10 months, but the boy is finally giving a damn.  At times like this, all I can do is shake my head and smile.