November 2009 • Volume 41 • Number 2 • Page 2
A View from the Middle
Editor, David C. Virtue
Your Classroom's Got Talent
I recently watched, once again, the video clip of Susan Boyle's audition for Britain's Got Talent.1
At the beginning of the clip, Ms. Boyle was backstage relating personal information about herself to the show's hosts, who listened with amused interest. She revealed that she was a single, unemployed woman, nearly 48 years old, who lived alone with her cat and had never been kissed. She also mentioned that she had been singing since she was twelve. When she stepped onto the stage in a simple, frumpy beige dress with her bushy hair and eyebrows, the crowd immediately responded with whistles and cat calls. The jeers and rolling eyes revealed what the audience and judges were probably thinking. Who is this plain-looking woman from a small village? What talent could she possibly have? Why is she wasting our time? Their expectations could not have been lower.
As I watched the clip, I was reminded that we often make assumptions about our students when we first meet them, based on the way they look, the way they talk, where they live, or the things other people say about them. The expressions on the faces of the people in the audience and on the judges' faces in the video clip reminded me of the looks on teachers' faces when a particular student's name is mentioned in the lounge or in a team meeting. You know that student, don't you?
Before Ms. Boyle performed, the ever-dour judge, Simon Cowell, asked her, "What is the dream?"
"I'm trying to be a professional singer," she replied.
"And why hasn't it worked out for you so far, Susan?"
"Well, … I haven't been given the chance before, so here's hoping that will change."
"And who would you like to be as successful as?" Simon asked.
When Ms. Boyle replied, "Elaine Paige," a mixture of laughter and groans erupted from the crowd. They must have been wondering incredulously, who is this silly old maid?
Then it happened. Susan Boyle began to sing the song "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miserables and immediately everyone in the theater—and soon tens of millions of YouTube viewers—was enchanted by her voice. Jeers instantly became cheers, and smirks turned into smiles.
The looks of pleasant surprise on the judges' faces would be familiar to veteran educators. At one time or another, we have all enjoyed moments when a student exceeded our expectations or surprised us with a hidden talent. That feeling of proud satisfaction is precisely what makes the profession so rewarding.
The sudden transformation of the audience and the judges was striking. In an instant, they began to see Susan Boyle as an individual with incredible talent, not as a stereotype. The middle grades literature has consistently called for individualization in terms of curriculum, instruction, and assessment, and the newly released edition of This We Believe underscores this principle. Susan Boyle's audition should remind us to view each of our students as an individual with talents and abilities that we may not have seen yet.
Unlike Susan Boyle, our students rarely get the opportunity to take the stage and showcase their abilities in a manner in which they feel most comfortable and confident. While Ms. Boyle selected the song she would sing and decided how she would sing it, we typically expect our students to perform only on our terms.
No single teacher is ever going to bring out the hidden Susan Boyle in every student. However, teams of dedicated teachers, working in concert with parents and school staff, have the potential to bring out the best in every student during the course of their middle grades experience. Such organizational supports are crucial.
Who among your students is a Susan Boyle? Who stepped onto the stage of your classroom this fall and drew jeers from the audience and cynical smirks from the judges? From which students do you expect the least, and what are you going to do to bring out their best?
1The video of Susan Boyle’s audition can be accessed at the Britain's Got Talent website: http://talent.itv.com/videos/video/item_200081.htm
Copyright © 2009 by National Middle School Association