Visiting Rafe Esquith, Part IV: The Hobart Shakespeareans

**If you haven't read the first three installments of this series, scroll down and read those first.

After lunch, things were rather open ended. The class received a package from a group of students and professor from Delta State University, somewhere in Mississippi. Once again, the class chorused with an "oohh!" of appreciation as Rafe extracted a bag of candy, an ornament, pennant, and okra mascot. "Well, we can't put up the banner because none of my students have gone to Delta State," Rafe quips as I study the placards under them. I've finally figured out that the dates under students' names mark when they were in Rafe's class, not when they graduated from university.

Rafe apologizes to his students from keeping them from lunch, he gets a little carried away with history, he says. Then he tells two more anecdotes about Grant and Sherman, Sherman and Johnstone, and Nathan Bedford Forrest. He goes on the say that elementary school is like a big restaurant, "you get to try a little bit of everything and then choose something you want to do for your whole life."

The students worked on their art projects for the rest of the day, a full hour, while I talked with Rafe about teaching philosophies and just plain observed.

At 2:10, Rafe gets up in front of the class again. At one student's request, Rafe tells a series of jokes. Then asks, "who has a compliment?" Two students chime in, complimenting one person for helping them, and another sweet students says, "I'd like to compliment our visitor for traveling so far to see us." [Isn't that nice?] There's no bell to dismiss the students so all just pack up and go, not like the students would have a Pavlovian response to it anyway. At several times during the day, Rafe would just teach right through the bell and students would answer through the bell. Room 56 obviously marches to a different drummer.

Students from other classes and grades start to file in, taking out their copy of "The Merchant of Venice" to browse or read. At 2:23, Rafe begins by announcing that Friday will be Casino Night, "A fun way to teach students not to gamble," he says asidedly to me. Rafe sets the ground rules for attending as far as parent pick ups and communication go.

Key Points for Holding a Shakespearean Practice

• All students participate all the time. For two sick players, the entire cast and crew chorus their lines in their absence. While only a few players will perform with guitar, voice, piano, or drums, there are at least 10 students practicing to be ready if called up to replace a student. I asked one student what her part was and she said, "I used to be Jessica," and no more than that, implying that she had lost the role for some reason that didn't cut the mustard.
• Its a rock opera. The students will perform 18 songs for the Merchant of Venice. 18 memorized lyrics, beats, and chords. Today I heard, "The Obvious Child," "Comfortably Numb," and "Heart of Gold." Songs are chosen for their lyrics to describe the plot or character in the play. It brings the Middle English down to a pleasant level and enhances the skills of the students to learn music.
• Choreography is key. As I watch a "beach blanket bingo" looking scene of suitor boys and selector women, Rafe explains that he's added dance and moves in the last 5 years. The first choreographer was a diva and wanted the 10-year-olds to treat her as such. She didn't last long. The most recent one was a CSI actress who comes in her spare time and gets the fact that she must be low key, inclusive, and patient. Hardly a student was sitting down when it was time for this dance scene.

By 3:30, our rehearsal of the Shylock's defense scene was over and Rafe got out his roulette board, spinner, and chips to demonstrate a game for Casino Night. His message: like alcoholism, gambling too is a sickness. The House always wins. Giving the first turn at gaming to the 4th graders, Rafe explains each type of bet, give a chip to each student, and rolls the wheel. Then he collects the losers, gives out winnings, and then shows how much the house won. Another chorus of "ooohh!" Then to the 5th graders not in his own class, the same illustration. Then his own 5th graders. The students grasp the real life example: gambling with chips is fun, but with money is always a losing venture.

At 4pm, everyone is dismissed. Everyone says, "good-bye Rafe" as they leave. Rafe replies with a, "goodbye beautiful" or "goodbye ______". A core group of seeming main characters lingers and a visiting 6th grader interacts with them. Rafe leaves the room for a few minutes, and the kids start throwing a softball in his absence. They reveal that they're not robotic superkids: like most kids would act "when the cat's away, the mice will play." I ask if they're concerned that something could break if they continue playing and they stop, echoing that, "something could break." Wow, I'm still amazed.

Rafe knows that I took the bus to get here in the rain and he doesn't want me taking the bus now as the sun sets. So he drives me home in the Oprah van, given to his foundation from the Oprah grant. I ask him some more questions about how to prepare urban ESL students for a global marketplace with suburban and foreign students accelerating so much faster without making them feel like they're behind. We both agreed that the students need the cultural literacy and background knowledge to make connections and thus learn more. Building that literacy for our students means giving them the experiences that level the playing field: trips to site of significance in the USA, music and rigorous performance that builds individual voices, and the why-factor that motivates students to realize that what they're learning has real-life implications.

He drops me off and wishes me well. I walk to my brother's apartment with a smile of appreciation. Until I realize that I've forgotten my umbrella in Rafe's car. I call the cell phone number he gave me. He circles back to give it to me. "I knew we'd see each other again, but this is getting ridiculous!" That's the kind of person that one of America's most amazing teachers is. I've been privileged to spend the day with room 56 at Hobart Elementary.

Visiting Rafe Esquith, Part I

On Monday, I had the privilege of visiting the classroom of Rafe Esquith, a 5th grade teacher at Hobart Boulevard Elementary School in the Koreatown neighborhood of Los Angeles. If you haven't heard of this teacher, its about time that you have. I first learned about him from a 2006 LA Times article announcing his second book, "Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire: Lessons from Room 56." When I finally read the book a year later, I was immediately impressed with his compassion, work ethic, and 100% devotion to his students' learning.

As a teacher on the so-called "front lines" of public school education, I have sought out many books for inspiration, instruction, solace, and skills for working effectively in this intense environment. From theorists, Friere, Piaget , to the activist Kozol to practitioners like Montessori, Kohl, Wong, LB, and Clark, I've read them all. But all of them have ceased to (or never even) teach in a classroom. With the theorist/researcher-practitioner dichotomy aside, there's something to be said for staying in the classroom to adapt to current conditions. While some teachers with an effective method could reach more by rising to administration or higher education to train teachers. But the transfer of skill from professor to textbook to student teacher to classroom to student thins out at every level, what you intend to teach students may not be actually what they receive. The only way to ensure that what one wants to teach them will be taught is to stay in that classroom. And that is exactly what Rafe Esquith has done for the past 27 years.

Along the way, Rafe has earned numerous accolades and awards: The Disney "Teacher of the Year" award (in a tux and his white tennis shoes), National Medal of Arts, Member of the British Empire (for his Shakespeare performances), a mini-van and "Use Your Life" from Oprah Winfrey (he drove me back to my brother's house in the mini-van!), and Compassion in Action award from the Dalai Lama. Every year he takes his students on trips to Washington, DC, East Coast and Midwest college trips (for his past students who are on college-bound tracks), and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Needless to say, this man works tirelessly on weekends and vacation periods to make things happen for his students. As you may suspect, these amazing extra-curricular activities don't happen with out extra infusions of cash. A former student of Rafe's set up a 501c3 Non-Profit status for his classroom to receive tax-deductible donations from interested donors. Few public school teachers can say they have a 6-figure budget for the work they do, but Rafe has worked to establish the foundation to support every amazing thing the students do in and outside of the classroom. It is with this premise that I am drawn to see for myself how Rafe's class operates.

This observation opportunity happened after I hopefully sent my copy of "Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire" to him in May to sign. I received it a week later with the inside page signed by all the members of room 56 as well as a card saying, "Jeff, let's get you down here for a visit. Call me xxx-xxxx, Rafe". I was incredulous. Here is this mega-busy, mega-famous teacher giving me his personal cell phone number and inviting me in on the action? I called him up in early June, and after a brief discussion of both our teaching situations, we agree to correspond via email to setup a date to visit. We settled on December 15 because I would be on winter vacation and he would not. So for 6 months I prepared and waited for this rare opportunity.

December 15 turned out to be rare alright: it was raining in LA. I arrived with drenched pant legs and shoulders from my bus commute around 7:45. Rafe certainly does get a lot of visitors, 4/5 of the first page on the office sign-in sheet were for "Esquith/Room 56". He extends the opportunity for student teachers, professors, and others to visit his classroom. Wow.

Two of his students came down to the office with umbrellas to greet and escort me to room 56. Upon entering the classroom, I noticed that most of the desks were already filled even though school starts at 8. Students can arrive as early as 6:30 to get extra help on their math. Rafe gives me a warm handshake and invites me to sit anywhere to observe the class for the day. I look at a seat in the corner, next to the soundboard where cords for microphones, electric guitars and basses are plugged in for this afternoon's rehearsal of the Hobart Shakespeareans. Before I can sit down, a student asks me if I'd like a cup of water. Already, I notice that these students are considerate of others.

I won't dare to compile eight hours of observation into this one blog. Instead, I think I'll divide them up into a series: Math, Literature, Science, History, Art, Shakespeare, and a final summary. There's just too many fine points to note that a summary of the whole day won't do it justice.

Questions

How do you as a teacher benefit by observing a mentor or peer? Is there a difference in the benefits between mentor and peer?

How do relatively young teachers (<5 yrs) incorporate features from expert, experienced teachers (10 years <) who've reached a level of mastery and efficiency mostly due to refinement over time?