AFS Wolf Den Academy for Success

Welcome, Wolf Pack, to another Positive Cinematic Spotlight! This week, we celebrate Star Wars, May the 4th. In 1977, George Lucas changed the face of the sci-fi genre and movie making with Star Wars. Despite having a full epic plotted through the first three movies, and with elements and ideas that would be spread out into the prequels released later at the turn of the century, Star Wars was presented as a standalone movie, uncertain about what seems like inevitable success. Lucas’s space opera was well received and to this day the special effects Lucas helped develop for his film changed what passed for acceptable special effects in science fiction for all time. But something we tend to forget is the nature of the narrative he told, and the heroes of his space opera.

Before 1977, science fiction tended to focus on alien invasions with a horror tone, or bleak dystopian futures. Most of these movies involved cerebral protagonists and while action may not have been absent, it wasn’t a major focus for the films. On TV you could find a shirtless Kirk fighting Gorn, but most science fiction involved outwitting enemies and analyzing the causes for the dystopian future they are found in. The science fiction action characters were pretty interchangeable, as Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon were strikingly similar in personality. But the characters Lucas gave us in his adventure broke the mold: A young farmer boy who dreamed of a more exciting life, an elderly hermit, an outspoken and opinionated princess who played a significant role in her own rescue, and a criminal who just wanted the money. Science fiction heroes now didn’t have to be serious, noble, strong, and morally two-dimensional. They could be flawed, they could be weak and uncertain, they could shoot first.

While the chapter title A New Hope refers to Luke, Han Solo, and Chewbacca joining the rebellion and Luke learning the ways of the force, the first to do so in many years, the chapter title also captures what Star Wars did for the science fiction genre. Science fiction soon became a significant storytelling genre making movie studios lots of money and getting critical acclaim. The genre was no longer just a means to get money from kids, but also became appreciated by the more discerning adult audience.

Similarly, this year, we have had to reinvent the classroom. We’ve brought in new technologies, experimented with new methods, and reached audiences, I mean students, who otherwise would have been lost. These are developments which, as  things return to normal, we don’t abandon. Returning to normal should not lead to us abandoning the wider array of methods students have had for the past year to participate in class. Imagine suspended students still able to view the lesson while at home, students on homebound no longer being limited to 5 hours a week, because now they can watch the lesson live, or rent the video tape. Sorry, I mean stream the video. Going back to normal, for schools, should only refer to being able to not wear masks, not having to worry about how far apart everyone ism

Throughout the Harry Potter series, Harry, Hermione, and Ron developed from innocent, childish, unaware students, to learning about a growing evil in the wizarding world and not being believed, to finally proven right that Voldemort had returned and everyone was in danger. During that course, they often got distracted, early on still learning of the growing trouble, and later letting personal interests interfere with their overall goals, even spending a fair amount of Deathly Hallows part 1 arguing among themselves. In Deathly Hallows part 2, however, they were focused on their mission of defeating Voldemort. Of course they were… it’s the last film of the Harry Potter series.


But then, that’s like our classrooms now. It’s the 4th quarter, heading into the final scenes of the 2020-2021 school year. Like Harry and friends, we need to remain focused. It’s easy to get unfocused in the last nine weeks. We can suffer from what I call the 4th Quarter Forgetaboutits. There are two versions of the 4th Quarter Forgetaboutits, or 4QFs, 4QF-A and 4QF-B. 4QF-A is the most common. It’s when you are tired of addressing the same students about the same behaviors. “Oh, Theo is throwing paper trying to shoot his trash in the trash can despite continued warnings and lunch detentions for the behavior. Why do I still have to tell him not to do that? Oh, well… just a few more weeks.” 4QF-B is caused by the same repetition of minor rules violations, but produces a different symptom, exasperation. “Theo! I’ve been telling you all year not to throw trash in my classroom! Go to the office! I’m done telling you! Just get out!”


Both types of 4th Quarter Forgetaboutits are understandable, and I’m sure every teacher can empathize. However, we also should be aware these 4QFs take our attention off of the goal we set out to achieve at the beginning of the year: enhancing quality learning in a safe and accepting environment. Remember that your classroom management, including sweating the small stuff, is essential to an environment that promotes learning and growth, and sweating the small stuff leads to being able to maintain the big stuff… no, not completion of lesson units… but maintaining positive relationships with students, helping them develop a positive attitude about education, and leading them to become successful learners.


Remember what Maya Angelou said, “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it." Today, Theo might not decide to stop throwing the trash halfway across the classroom for it to bounce off the rim and roll next to Hugh’s foot, who annoyingly picks it up and throws it back at Theo, who ducks, allowing the paper ball to bounce off Sierra’s perfectly coiffed hair, causing her to stand up, saying in a low, menacing growl, “Oh, I know you didn’t,” followed by a loud, profanity laced explanation of how much work it takes for her hair to turn out the way it does, and if her hair’s messed up… well, the proposed fate of both Theo and Hugh chills the spine of everyone listening and becomes the story of legend. But… maybe tomorrow will be the day Theo follows the rules. And that day will be all the sooner if we maintain positive relationships, while preserving our management of the class.


And, for the record, pretty much everything involving Hogwarts can be used to show how not to teach, administer, and manage the education of students. So stick with Stand and Deliver, Lean on Me, and Freedom Writers for your inspiring teacher movies. Heck, there are good teacher takeaways in Summer School, Teachers, Bad Teacher, and School of Rock. But no, not any Harry Potter movies.


Thank you for all that you do, thank you for being the best, and thank you for focusing on our students’ needs through the trying 4th quarter.

Soul is about middle school band teacher Joe Gardner who dreams of becoming a jazz musician. He gets the opportunity to play with jazz great Dorothea Williams. But an accident leads to his death, but he’s not ready to die, not when he was just about to live his dream of becoming a jazz musician. This leads to the events of the movie. Jamie Foxx provides the voice of Joe and Angela Bassett voices Dorothea. Tina Fey also stars as the voice of 22. Yep, there’s a character called 22.

There’s a point in the movie where Joe is again able to live his dream and play jazz with Dorothea Williams, but he doesn’t feel as excited as he thought he would. Dorothea then tells him a story.

“I heard this story about a fish. He swims up to this older fish and says, ‘I’m trying to find this thing they call the ocean.’
‘The ocean?’ says the older fish. ‘That’s what you’re in right now.’
‘This?’ says the young fish, ‘This is water. What I want is the ocean.’”

It occurred to me, as I processed the events of January 6, trying to learn what I could about what happened at Capitol Hill, trying to see things from other people’s point of view, that many Americans are like the young fish in Dorothea’s story. They were looking for something, many wanting to be heard and their doubts about the election acknowledged, but they didn’t realize that what they wanted was already there. They already had what they wanted. Politicians were objecting to the Electoral Votes on their behalf. But they had been convinced that they were not being listened to.

Similarly, many have viewed the 2020-2021 school year as hit and miss, and not quite meeting desires or expectations. But if we step back and look, we can see that, while it may not be the manner in which we wanted it, we do have everything we desire in this school year. We are able to teach and reach our students better now than ever before. Yes, we absolutely want our students in our classrooms, but we also want everyone to remain safe. Our technology allows us to do just that. It may not be perfect, but whatever form your classroom takes, whether it’s 100% virtual, or hybrid, or 100% face to face but behind plexi-glass shields and face masks, we are still able to teach the students we love and help them grow and develop into successful students. We can remain positive and see all that growth we have accomplished in the past year to better be able to reach and teach our students in a wider variety of situations and formats and addressing more needs than ever before, or we can be distracted by the pessimists and the negative propaganda that we are not fulfilling our obligations. But as 2021 I feel it’s important to focus on what we have achieved, what we are able to do and that this is what we want to do… a little different than how we want, but still a successful, albeit rocky, shift in education to protect student and staff health while continuing to guide our future leaders into adulthood.

I want to thank everyone for all that you do, thank you for being the best, and thank you for the heart and soul you put into your teaching. Happy New Years!

Welcome, Wolf Pack, to another Positive Cinematic Spotlight! This week’s focus is a bit of a surprise for me. I randomly chose to watch the 2018 post apocalyptic Mortal Engines. But there was a particular line that immediately latched onto a concern in education.

Mortal Engines is about a post apocalyptic world that exists after what is called the Sixty Minute War, which left the world devastated. Following the war, cities were rebuilt, but this time they were mobile cities travelling the land on treads. Large cities, like London, would scoop up smaller cities and absorb their technology, material, and population into their own. Some of that material would simply be shoveled into London’s engine. One of the protagonists, Tom, hears that a small city is being absorbed and rushes down to see what technology he can find to save. He’s a historian and collects ancient technology for the museum. When he arrives at the engine of London, he sees the debris of the small city being shoveled into the engine and says, “They only know how to feed the machine.”

That line, kind of a throwaway line not particularly important to the plot or theme of the movie, caught my attention as it occurred to me that’s a concern that exists today. The idea of feeding “the machine” without considering the nature of how you feed it can lead to lost opportunities and treasures.

In regards to education, the machine would be out students and the materials we are feeding are our lessons. However, the concern with feeding the machine is less about not sling a particularly important piece of technology, like the toaster Tom rescues from London's engine, but how fast we feed it.

It’s an issue that existed before Covid hit, but it’s become far more likely and potentially problematic since we’ve had to reassess our teaching methods and adjust to a more virtual world. We need to beware of “just feeding the machine.” We can shift our focus from the academic growth of our students to keeping up with the pacing guide or the framework. We just start shoveling making sure we are getting the standards shoved down to meet pacing guide and framework expectations, but losing focus on our students’ readiness for another scoop of knowledge. If we keep shoveling and don’t check to be sure the engine, our students, are ready for more, we risk choking the system and they shut down, unable to process the new content we are teaching because it was coming too fast.

Naturally, there’s concerns about our students falling behind, except… we are all behind. Teaching virtually is often slower because of streaming lag and increased distractions. We can set up our rooms and seat our students in ways to minimize distractions, but that doesn’t help when your students are streaming from home. If we are all behind, then we, as a community, can agree that when things get back to normal, hopefully sooner rather than later, we can adjust to fill in the gaps in our students’ education. Right now, we need to be sure we are not overwhelming our students and causing extra stress in these trying times. We can fill in the gaps in the future.

Thank you for all that you do and thank you for being the best.

Welcome back, Wolf Pack, to another Positive Cinematic Spotlight! Winter break is right around the corner and I was wondering… what is your favorite Christmas movie? Is it a classic like It’s a Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th Street? Is it an unconventional Christmas movie like Die Hard, Gremlins, or Batman Returns? Maybe a classic TV special like Charlie Brown's Christmas or How the Grinch Stole Christmas? Mine is 1992’s The Muppet Christmas Carol. There are a lot of things going on with this adaptation which cement it as my “must watch” for every Christmas Eve. I grew up watching The Muppet Show on TV and loved it, so there’s a nostalgic pull. As a lover of literature, the adaptation of one of the most adapted Christmas novels ever, written by Charles Dickens, has a place in reasons why I enjoy this movie so much. More than just that, however, is that this adaptation includes the narrator, played by Gonzo playing Charles Dickens himself, and he quotes parts of the original text as the narrator. Then, of course, he gets interrupted by Rizzo the Rat with comedic effect. Also, the film came out in 1992, the year I graduated high school and started college, so it was a time of great change in my life, and that sense of nostalgia was all the stronger for it.

Now, finding positive messages in a Christmas movie is pretty easy as almost all wear their positive themes on their sleeves, unless you go with unconventional Christmas movies. Is there positivity in Gremlins? Absolutely, but you have to chisel past the surface of irresponsibility and comedic horror which spans the majority of the movie. So, when we look at an easy mark like The Muppet Christmas Carol for a positive message, I try and find something kind of hidden. With any adaptation of A Christmas Carol, the story has been seen so much and interpreted so many times it’s hard to find something new. But when I was researching the movie, I discovered something of which I was not aware. I knew this was the first Muppet project after Jim Henson, the creator of the Muppets, died in 1990. What I didn’t know was that the new voice for Muppet front man, or front frog, Kermit the Frog, Steve Whitmire was nervous about taking over the role made internationally famous by Jim Henson. The night before they were to start shooting the movie, Whitmire had a dream in which he was visited by Jim Henson coming from an all white hotel. Whitmire confessed his anxiety to Henson in his dream and Henson responded in a way which those who knew him were very familiar: “It will pass.”Whitmire was assuaged by the message from Henson and was more at ease when shooting began.

That story struck me as we head to the end of 2020. “It will pass.” This has been a difficult year with viruses, politics, worries about how to handle returning to school in a manner that both considers the needs of students as well as teachers, administrators, and every member of a school district’s staff. But these concerns will pass. We treat midnight, that moment when December 31, 2020 passes the baton to January 1, 2021 as a chance to change, to try things differently. But we also know that it’s an arbitrary moment as we constructed the calendar we use to designate the new year. Before the current Julian calendar, with the Roman calendar there were 10 months and the new year started on March 1. Will all of our concerns from the past year evaporate on January 1? Of course not, but if the date change helps give you a starting point, go for it, and make that change. We have minimal effect, individually, on things like the virus, the direction the government we go in, and addressing all concerns with how the school year should proceed (we don’t have the manpower or money to do all the options to appease everyone.). But we have 100% control over how we respond. What can you do to help yourself handle the stresses of teaching in a pandemic world?

Be sure to reflect on the positives, because 20

Welcome back, Wolf Pack, to another Positive Cinematic Spotlight! We are moving into the middle of December and Winter Holidays are discernible just on the horizon. WIth those most merry holidays beckoning us, we are looking at Christmas movies. I would certainly and gladly look at Hanukkah movies or Kwanzaa movies, but I am not aware of any, so if you have any recommendations, I am open to them. Until then, this week we are looking at It’s a Wonderful Life, one of the most viewed and popular Christmas movies ever. Rotten Tomatoes has It’s a Wonderful Life ranked as the #1 Christmas movie, just ahead of the Charlie Brown Christmas Special. For the record, last week’s Christmas movie, Die Hard ranked #14. Christmas movies are typically easy to find positive messages in them, as that is the nature of the holiday. It’s a Wonderful Life’s message about being aware of how important one person can be certainly fits the bill of positive message, and even echoes one of Dr. Melton’s catch phrases, “Know thy impact!” And that is a great take away from It’s a Wonderful Life. Your presence in the classroom is a positive influence on multiple lives. Sometimes, it may seem to be a thankless endeavor, but rest easy knowing that there are multiple people who you have a positive impact on. But I had a suspicion there was more going on in this movie classic. There had to be more for it to get the number of TV time slots it was getting at one point. Ok, so the reason was that the copyright had lapsed and TV companies could air it for free. But it still gets a couple of viewings on public television even after the copyright was reacquired. So what other positive messages does It’s a Wonderful Life have? First, I wondered how George Bailey, played by Jimmy Stewart, had such a positive impact on the town of Bedford Falls. In the movie, he’s described as never thinking of himself, except there are a couple of notable scenes where we see his temper. George is not always a calm oasis in the midst of chaos. He’s shown a few times losing his temper and taking his frustrations out on others. So, how does George get such patience and compassion from his fellow Bedford Falls citizens? George treats everyone with empathy or sympathy. Sympathy gets a bad rap from people saying, “I don’t want your sympathy,” largely, it seems because of the misunderstood definition of “to feel bad for someone,” akin to pitying someone. Really, sympathy is about feeling compassion for others despite not having experience with similar hardships, and we see George display that compassion throughout the movie. When he was a child and his boss, Mr. Gower, makes a mistake at the pharmacy, we are told that George shows Mr. Gower the mistake he made with the medications, and even after Mr. Gower reacts angrily and violently, George never tells anyone, knowing if the small town citizens knew what almost happened, he would likely have lost his position as pharmacist. But George’s compassion and strength of character saves a life and a livelihood, understanding that Mr. Gower had gotten some bad news that day. Another incident of compassion and sympathy was when banks were shutting down in the wake of the depression. As the manager of the Bailey Brothers Building and Loan, George tries to negotiate with his clients who want to withdraw their money. However, the business model for the Building and Loan involves using money saved with them from some citizens to help build houses for others, so there’s nowhere near the cash needed to pay everyone back their money. However, this happened on his wedding day and he had $2000 cash for their honeymoon. He uses that money to give the citizens the money they were asking for. He could have said that they signed an agreement to give the Building and Loan 60 days to get the money they were asking for, but his sympathy for his clients’ concerns led him to come up with another solution.