3 January 2014 LESSON SIX: EVERY VICTORY IS A VICTORY, NO MATTER WHAT YOU WIN.

13 January 2014: Day Six

 

LESSON SIX: EVERY VICTORY IS A VICTORY, NO MATTER WHAT YOU WIN.

 

Each class began with reminders of important upcoming dates, including the end of the semester and when assignments were due. The students then worked on their maps of Europe, studying in small groups in preparation for a test tomorrow. After studying for about 20 minutes, they reviewed a worksheet they had previously completed to learn:

·         What are the mountains of Greece like?

·         Why was the sea important to ancient Greeks?

·         Why were ancient Greek communities isolated from one another

·         What were some of the dangers of travel?

 

I began by talking about Britain’s policy of selling firearms to Native Americans so they could use them to cause trouble for “the Colonies,” the influence of the invention of the cotton mill and cotton gin on the southern economy, the massive expansion in the cotton industry between 1793 and 1802. This led to the insatiable demand for land, and the only land was west. Unfortunately, hundreds of thousands of Native Americans, thousands organized into warbands under the leadership of Tecumseh and his brother, the Prophet, were already living there—armed with “modern” firearms by the British. To make matters worse, slaves on plantations near the borderlands were fleeing to join Native American tribes, where they were welcomed as free people.

 

When British guns were discovered on the bodies of Native American warriors after the Battle of Tippecanoe, Southerners demanded war with Britain, and the “War Hawk” senators promised to give it to them if elected. They were, and they did.

 

This was followed by Sir Isaac Brock frightening the largest garrison in the northern U.S. into surrendering without firing a shot (by having Tecumseh’s Native warriors dress in war paint and whoop outside its walls). The British then swept into Washington D.C. like a storm; President Madison fled the city, leaving behind his wife who would not go until she saved the presidential portrait of George Washington by having it cut from its frame. The British soldiers enter the White House, eat the hastily abandoned feast from the beautifully set table, and then thrash the interior and light the building on fire.

 

We also talked about the British sending 14,000 soldiers in war ships to New Orleans and Madison sending the always-insane Andrew Jackson down to stop them. (Uber-violent, short-tempered Jackson fought 102 pistol duels in his life; his body “rattled like a bag of marbles” from all the bullets still in him. When I told the students about a particularly bloody duel, I got an approving “Siiiick!” from several of the boys in the back). Jackson was given a only a couple thousand men, so once in New Orleans he recruited sailors, farmers, Choctaw Indians, free blacks—and convinced bands of pirates to join him by promising them any booty they captured from the British! They pulled the cannons of their ships and mounted them on shore. The British were shocked at the violence of the defense—at the end of the day, they had lost 2037 men, including all of their senior officers.

 

Jackson had lost 13.

 

Unfortunately for Jackson, the war of 1812 had ended 15 days before the battle—the message just hadn’t reached him in time. He became a hero anyway—which paved the way for his election as President (without campaigning) a few years later.

 

The students liked the story, were mostly attentive, and readily answered the review questions I put to them afterward. When I sat down, student SP leaned back and nodded approvingly: “That was cool.” High praise, indeed, from an 8^th grader who doesn’t want to be in school at all.

 

LESSON SIX: EVERY VICTORY IS A VICTORY, NO MATTER WHAT YOU WIN.

 

Sometimes, teachers have huge victories—Battle of Hastings-sized, Battle of Cannae-sized—like receiving letters about how you’ve changed their lives, or seeing transformations from an indifferent, under-performing student to a passionate, excelling one, or watching students go on to live up to their potential.

 

But some victories are simpler: a student who simply pays attention a little longer during a lesson, a relaxed conversation about a student’s weekend that draws you a little closer together, a rand raised for the first time, a laugh at a joke.

 

Every victory counts, and should be counted—not on the teacher’s scoreboard, but on the scoreboard that belongs to the team of Teachers and Students. It doesn’t matter how small the victory seems, or what results from it. Jackson became a war hero and president for winning the Battle of New Orleans, a battle that didn’t even need to be fought. But perhaps it was worth fighting. I know students are worth fighting for—every one of them. There are no meaningless battles, as long as they are fought with students’ welfare in mind.

 

Oh, and the student who told me Friday that he doesn’t share with the class? He had his hand up twice today. I called on him both times: “So…what would you like to share?”