The other day, I was substitute teaching for a Pacific Northwest History class (junior high) at my son’s school (we live in the Pacific Northwest, thus the regional bias). I truly enjoy the classroom, for although engaging with young people has its challenges, students are so much fun. They are energetic, witty, and quick at the starting gate.
The project assigned for the first day was to choose a person, event, or location from the Northwest and develop a three-point outline for a short paper. I encouraged the students to choose different topics so that on the day of class presentations, they would have a more varied and interesting set of offerings.
One young man chose The Pig War (yes, look it up—it’s real—I’m still laughing about that one). Another chose Northwest athletics, her three points being the Seattle Supersonics (the who?), the Portland Trailblazers (okay, that’s current), and a women’s swimming champion legend (Google search didn’t turn up anything too quick—should have written her name down). William Boeing was a favorite. Then came the Grand Coulee Dam. One girl shouted, “I want to do it on Bill Gates.” Another added, “Microsoft.” Those two were a little close, but I let it slide. Overall, encouraging signs (except the Supersonics).
Next, one student shouted, “Apple.”
“But Apple isn’t from the Northwest,” I replied.
“Huh?” came the confused, deflated expression. “Then where’s it from?”
“From Cupertino, California.”
“Ahhh!” the lights went on. “So that’s why the weather app always defaults to Cupertino, CA!”
These are the moments I live for.
The project assigned for the first day was to choose a person, event, or location from the Northwest and develop a three-point outline for a short paper. I encouraged the students to choose different topics so that on the day of class presentations, they would have a more varied and interesting set of offerings.
One young man chose The Pig War (yes, look it up—it’s real—I’m still laughing about that one). Another chose Northwest athletics, her three points being the Seattle Supersonics (the who?), the Portland Trailblazers (okay, that’s current), and a women’s swimming champion legend (Google search didn’t turn up anything too quick—should have written her name down). William Boeing was a favorite. Then came the Grand Coulee Dam. One girl shouted, “I want to do it on Bill Gates.” Another added, “Microsoft.” Those two were a little close, but I let it slide. Overall, encouraging signs (except the Supersonics).
Next, one student shouted, “Apple.”
“But Apple isn’t from the Northwest,” I replied.
“Huh?” came the confused, deflated expression. “Then where’s it from?”
“From Cupertino, California.”
“Ahhh!” the lights went on. “So that’s why the weather app always defaults to Cupertino, CA!”
These are the moments I live for.
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