A Tip of the Hat to Mr. Dougherty

Today I read Mary Ann Bell's blog. She talked about creating assignments that are fun to grade and don't encourage plagiarism. She mentioned that this kind of assignment isn't new and cited Dr. Goode's class back in the 60's.

As I read, I was transported back to the 50's and my 9th grade Social Studies class taught by Mr. Dougherty at J.P. Cleary Jr. High. He was fresh out of the marines and I enjoyed his class. It was partly because he was a role model in many ways, but I don't remember a lot about the way he taught or the subject matter. None-the-less, there was one aspect of his class that stands out in my mind as something I remember fondly. It was the punishment assignments.

I tended to talk a bit during class, which sometimes got me in hot water. It wasn't just in Social Studies, but it seemed that his class resulted in the more heat than others. I suspect it was because I didn't mind his punishment assignments. In fact I enjoyed them.

No, I'm not a masochist. The fact is, his assignments were creative. They were the kind of assignments I wish other teachers had given. Instead of writing, "I will not misbehave" 500 times, his assignments were usually essays, but not what you might expect. Instead of topics revolving around why I should behave in class, he knew I already knew that, he chose topics like "Life Inside a Ping-Pong Ball", and "I Was the Bullet that Killed Abe Lincoln."

There was no grade attached to these assignments, but I spent more time on them and enjoyed them more than any assignment I ever had for English.

So I thank you, Mr. Dougherty, for you punishment assignments, ethics, your creativity, and your patience. They not only helped 9th grade more interesting, they helped shape the way I teach.