Matthew M Cornett

Tag: education

  • Stay Gold

    I’m sure at some point every generation has said this, but if I hear that “these kids today are worse than they have ever been,” the Kentucky boy in me just might have to make an appearance. Seriously. It’s getting old and honestly, that comment is only a reflection of yourself. I know that sounds harsh but it’s the truth.

    The problem, and the worst thing that any adult working with children can do, is to forget. When we forget, we make assumptions that those kids are there for the same reasons we are when the fact is they are not. We have different priorities than they do and that’s just a fact. We want them to learn while they just want to have fun. But you don’t remember that for some reason, do you?

    Be honest with yourself for a moment. When you were their age, what was the last thing you were interested in? I know that when I was in high school, the last thing I cared about was what was going on in the English classroom, except for maybe the girls across the room. Grammar? Boring. Literature? It wasn’t anything I wanted to read, so again, boring. And writing? Ugh. None of it appealed to me but I did enough of what I needed to do to keep the teacher and my parents off my back. I would have much rather been hanging out with my friends, listening to my music, or honestly anything other than what my English teacher wanted me to do. 

    So why is it that when kids act and feel the same way we did, we say “these kids are terrible and worse than ever?” What makes them so terrible? The fact that they are just like you were? It goes back to my point: that we forget what it was like and when we do that, it shades all of our interactions with them and they know it. They can feel it from you and it’s damaging to the learning environment.

    Now, ask yourself, what could have made that classroom a little better for you, if anything? I’m not saying I have the answers but maybe we as the adults can do something different. For one, we can at least act like we want them to be there. I like my students, no matter how idiotic and goofy they can be. Trust me, them saying “67” every time they turn around could be so much worse. They could be saying some of the more inappropriate things we used to say. At least they’re just being goofy kids, which is what they are. Take my advice: jump in there and be just as silly from time to time even if you are the butt of the joke. They will see a whole different side of you and it may impact that classroom for the better.

    Also, remember this. Most of the stuff we want them to do is completely boring to them. Being bored with our stuff doesn’t make them the morons you think they are. It makes them kids and as the adult in the room, you need to find ways to make it connect with them. If you can’t, you’ll only compound the problem. Never change the learning priorities but at least try to make it fun and be the idiot who tries to connect with them. Build a relationship with them and have fun doing it. Trust me: they get so much of the opposite from other adults, at least they’ll be slightly entertained as you are trying to teach them and that connection will pay off, I promise. 

    One of my favorite poems by EE Cummings says (technical errors intended if you know anything about him as a poet:

    Children guessed(but only a few

    And down they forgot as up they grew

    That’s one of the saddest lines ever to me. It reminds me that we are cursed to forget as we grow up and that just stinks. That breaks my heart for them and for us as adults but what can we do? I say fight it. As Johnny told Ponyboy and our generation: “Stay gold.” I really do believe that’s the key. 

    These kids are worth it. And you are too.

  • Lesson from The Iliad

    I’m going to hold off one more week discussing my book. I have to admit that teaching and being back in the classroom is dominating my mind again this week and that’s not a bad thing.

    Being back in the classroom has been an amazing experience. Teachers had kept telling me that Covid changed everything and that teaching wasn’t the same, but thankfully, I’m not seeing that. From what I am seeing kids are still kids and I am loving being back and part of their lives. From my quiet group that look at me like I’m crazy with all my silly ways, to my fun and rowdy crew that make me feel like Mr. Kotter. Seriously, I might as well have Vinnie, Juan, Washington, and Horshack in that classroom and they are just as entertaining! I’m having a blast.

    But something hit me the other day. We are having an event this month focusing on reading, and our instructional coach asked us to list our favorite book and submit a photo of ourselves from back then. I found my 9th grade yearbook, took a pic of me back when my hair was as dark as could be, and submitted my favorite book (Pat Conroy’s The Prince of Tides). I had to walk to the front of the building for something and saw the associate principal of my house. I said something like, “Man, I hope I don’t regret that picture I submitted of myself to the Admin.” He paused for a second and was confused. I didn’t realize he was caught up in something at that moment, but he stopped and said, “Sorry, Mr. Cornett. I’m dealing with some things right now.” I immediately apologized but then said “No, I’m sorry” and told me three very serious things he was dealing with right then and there. I told him how much I appreciated all he does for us and went back to the workroom.

    As I was walking down the hall, it stuck with me. There I was existing in my wonderful little teacher world thinking about something silly like an old photo of me that the kids will be seeing and most certainly giving me a well deserved hard time over. I spend my planning time thinking about what I can do that day to make the classroom a little more fun and engaging. I love to find a little video clip or a song that helps the kids connect with the content and stuff like that is always on my mind.

    But you know what’s not? The kind of stuff the Admin has to deal with every single day so I can stay there in my little teacher land. People often say that teachers are there in the trenches every day doing the hard work of helping students learn and grow and I agree with that completely. But do you know what makes that possible? It’s the line of administrators who are constantly bombarded with negativity day after day protecting us and keeping those things at bay the best they can. They are the phalanx line that makes our work possible.

    I get to teach The Odyssey this year and can’t wait for that unit, but if I’m honest, The Iliad is my favorite of the two. I have always been fascinated with Warfare and Literature. I’d say it comes from watching those kinds of movies with my Dad. In the 80’s, he took me to see Missing in Action, Rambo, First Blood II and plenty of other movies like that. But it was 1986’s Platoon that gave me a different perspective. Combined with discovering Apocalypse Now on late night cable, I became very interested in the ways that warfare affected the boys and men who were called into battle. In Grad School, I wrote my Thesis on Fourteenth Century Warfare and Rhetoric in Arthurian Poetry, so it’s kind of my thing.

    In the 16th book of the Iliad, Achilles gives a speech to Patroclus and the Myrnidions (his soldiers) to get them ready for the coming battle. Homer writes that after the speech, “With these words he put heart and soul into them all, and they serried their companies yet more closely when they heard of their king. As the stones which a builder sets in the wall of some high house which is to give shelter from the winds-even so closely were the helmets and bossed shields set against one another. Shield pressed on shield, helm on helm, and man on man..” His descriptions sound like the Greek Phalanx, where the soldiers stood in close formation with shields and spears creating an almost impenetrable unit. The idea was basically this: stand together, protect each other, and overcome. The Greeks didn’t invent the Phalanx but they used it to great success and in some historians’ minds, perfected it.

    That’s the image that came to my mind. Me standing in the comfort of my classroom with my students, all made possible because of the protective line of administrators doing the real heavy lifting. I’m not saying that teaching is all rainbows and unicorns; yes, we have our challenges, some more than others, and if you don’t have a supportive administration like I am blessed to have at my school, I completely understand your frustration. In my opinion, that school district needs to get its act together and put the right people into those positions.

    But, remember this, and I only know this because I flirted with administration early on in my career and realized it wasn’t for me. If all you did day in and day out was deal with nothing but negativity, how long would it take you to burn out? I know that I couldn’t do it. Nope. I am blessed to be able to have the next fun learning activity as my biggest worry most days.

    I went back to my administrator on Friday and told him he was gonna be the topic of my next blog. Initially, he looked at me strangely, but when I explained and then thanked him for all he does to make my job possible, he was truly thankful for the compliment. I hope it made a difference in his day.

    And I hope this inspires others to do the very same, no matter what your job. We all have people above us working behind the scenes to keep everything going.

    A little appreciation can go a long way and I’m glad I was reminded of that.

  • Themes, part 2

    I was a high school teacher for 24 years and had some great experiences all along the way. For the last 14 years of it, I taught Dual Credit English (ENG 101 in the fall and ENG 102 in the Spring). The curriculum determined that we had to write 3 specific types of essays each semester. The textbook was divided into chapters that discussed the essay type and then provided examples that could be discussed and analyzed. When it came time for my students to write their essay, I never dictated the topic. For me, they could write about whatever they wanted as long as it was the type of essay required. 

    I always tried to make my classroom a fun place. For me, it was my home away from home so I decorated it to reflect my interests. The walls were covered primarily with my main interests- literature, film, music and art. I had quotes from classic authors, movie posters, classic rock albums, and art posters I picked up from various art museums (mostly Van Gogh but others as well). To be honest, I loved that classroom and most of that stuff is now hanging up in my garage. I enjoy going in there and reminiscing about the “good old days.” 

    Everything in that room had its purpose and I designed it as such. When it came time to write a specific essay, something in the room on the walls provided a jumping off point for that essay. My favorite essay was the Rhetorical Analysis from the Spring Semester and I tried to make it as fun as possible. Rhetorical Analysis is simply an analysis of the text of any work where you explore the various things used by the author to shape that text. For example, in my MA Thesis, I analyzed 3 Aurthurian poems from the late 14th Century, and discussed how each poet used the concept of Medieval Warfare to shape their own vision of King Arthur and his knights. It was kind of dorky but I loved it.

    To make the Rhetorical Analysis essay more interesting for the students, I developed a unit where we analyzed popular song and I even had a research article to back the approach up. Essentially, I had the students pick a song and analyze it rhetorically. To get them started, I gave each of them a song of my choice (which none of them had ever heard) and told them to determine its meaning. I forced them to go through three stages: Interpretation, Context, and Authorial Intent. First, I told them to listen to it and then guess what they thought it meant. Then, I had them dig into the background- who the author was, when was it written, and what events were going on at that time. Then finally, I had them look and see if the author ever stated what they intended. 

    By the end of the assignment, we had some great discussions. Some of the best ones were how things can be interpreted in so many different ways depending on your own experiences, how works can speak to new generations beyond their own place and time despite their own limitations, and how something can take on its own meaning beyond what the author intended if they ever stated it in the first place. It was always fun helping them realize that the world was a much bigger place than they ever imagined yet they also had a voice to contribute.

    When it comes to discussing the theme of any work, we are immediately faced with a problem. How do you determine “the theme?” First of all, there are always multiple things going on in any work. On top of that, how do you really ever know? Also, as an author, do you really want to dictate what that theme is, especially when readers will interpret it based on their own experiences? I know what I intended, but if you get something else out of it does my intention change that? For me, not at all. We all bring ourselves to any work and if a work can speak beyond its intention into an entirely different area, that is the beauty of any art. I love how a song can mean something to me the author never intended and I can only hope that my book could ever do the same.

    If you want to know what the theme of my book is for me, start with the cover. More on that next time.

  • Themes, part 1

    I went to college at the University of Kentucky from 1990-95 (yes, I was on the five year plan). My major was English Education which allowed me to become a high school teacher for 24 years. The first two years felt like high school part two with a few interesting things thrown in every so often. The high points for me were always the English classes. Reading, writing, thinking about, and discussing literature were the things I enjoyed, although I did have some good History and Philosophy professors too. Math and Science were necessary check boxes and although I still wish I was smarter in those areas to this day, they just never clicked for me. 

    Graduate School was where I really geeked out. It was all literature, all the time but it became much heavier. Back then, you had a week to read the novel, go to the library and check out the research the professor had on hold (yes, internet was relatively new in 1997 so you had to check out a physical copy), familiarize yourself with the research, and be prepared to participate in discussions which were brutal, especially if you weren’t prepared. And trust me: you never really were prepared enough and the professors always knew. Some were more gracious than others and it was tough but I loved it.

    Today, if you google “theme in literature,” AI gives you the classic definition in its overview: “the central idea or underlying message that an author explores throughout a story.” It lists examples such as “love, loss, redemption, power, coming of age, and identity.” If you read some of the greatest books ever written, you can see these kinds of concepts developed throughout. The question is how did they do it? There really are only 3 options: it was either (1) planned all along like a storyboard that becomes fleshed out, (2) it just kind of grows and develops as the writer naturally tells a story, or (3) there’s a mixture of the two. I have a feeling that in most cases it’s the 3rd option (it certainly is for me as a writer) but I’m sure it’s possible that there are some talented people out there who plan it all out and then simply execute. 

    For me, I like to see where it goes. Yes, I have a general concept or even a plan when I first start out but then I go where it takes me. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, which is where revision comes into play. I learned this when I was writing my MA Thesis at the end of Grad School. I remember coming up with the concept, talking to my professor, and then going off for two weeks to write what would become the second chapter. I “finished” it, gave it to him, and then came back about a week later to hear his accolades for my work. I can still hear Dr. Hill in his quirky little voice saying “Well, Mr. Cornett, this is a good start to what will be a fine chapter.” I remember thinking, “Start? What the heck is he talking about?” I called my wife on my Unidon Brick cellphone with the retractable antenna and said “I don’t know what this man wants from me! I can’t do this.” She calmed me down, told me to read his comments and go from there. I went to the library, sat in my usual spot on the fourth floor, and realized that he was right. I wasn’t seeing the bigger picture, and I am proud to say that with his guidance, I was able to create something that went somewhere I never intended and I am truly proud of it. Ever since then, that has been my approach. Plan things out the best you can, execute that plan, but allow for the twists and turns to take you where it is meant to go. Sometimes you just have to get out of the way.  

    My initial plan with If We Never Meet Again was to collect the stories that people seemed to love to hear me tell. Moving from High School English Teacher to Hospice Associate Administrator doesn’t seem like a typical career path and trust me, that was never the plan. Whenever I would go home, people would always be interested in my new job, and I was always ready with a great story about typical hospice stuff completely foreign to most people. The more stories I told, the more people seemed intrigued. Little by little, the idea of the book began to take shape. Eventually, I had a plan and I went with it but it took me to a place I never intended. 

    More on that next week.