Thompson: My Story of Teaching and Learning This Week In Education

This Week In Education

Thompson: My Story of Teaching and Learning

by john thompson

I got my start in education as a hiking counselor for inner city children where I gained the insights that can only be learned in the middle of the night with tent mates or sharing the challenges of nature. I’ll never forget the thrill of guiding children on a fossil hunt, and the cry of joy of a little girl "I just found a dinosaur nose! It still has blood on it!"
After crack and gangs hit my neighborhood, I became an inner city high school teacher .. and completely fell in love with the job. When a kid transferred into my class from the deep South he asked whether I had Black kids. "You’re always talking about ‘ma kids’" said the student as he mocked my Okie accent. From all over the room came laughter and the reply, "D.T. has hundreds of Black kids!" Then the class clown added, "Yeah, D.T. is a playa!"

The deep bonds with my students were the only reason why I put up with the indignities that are routinely dumped on teachers, as well as the fearful "culture of compliance" that afflicts public schools. My principal, and others, did not care for my love of playing basketball with the students, and she hated their practice of calling me "D.T.," not "Doctor Thompson."
And of course, there were plenty of warnings against dangerous practices ranging from breaking up gang fights to leading Socratic discussions into controversial areas to driving students home after games. After six years, I