Believe it or not, I know a teacher who has not received a single parental complaint in 30 years of dynamic teaching.
Jim Cross is a true living legend in the town of Los Alamitos, California. After graduating from Stanford, where he played football on the same team with Jim Plunkett, he officially entered his chosen profession in 1970.
Students learned immediately that in "his" class, they not only had a very knowledgeable instructor, but also a guide and a friend who truly cared about them.
What made him stand out among most history teachers is that he also taught about the future.
Jim and his good friend, Jay Green, developed what they called the "Utopia Project." The students were given four weeks to develop their idea of a perfect society. They had to create their own governmental, educational, judicial and economic systems. They were urged to live out the cultural traditions they would encourage.
It was one of the most successful projects I have ever seen created in a classroom. The sub-text to the lesson was that everyone had the power (if they would choose to use it) to create the future they wanted to live.
He expanded on the idea when he left Junior High School to enter the world of sophomores, juniors and seniors. He added a new class to the curriculum, "Future Studies," which involved the basis of the "Utopia Project" he and his friend Jay had worked on. It was an elective, and had a waiting list of students eager to sit in on this master teacher's presence.
Now we come to Jim's special secret. The first three weeks of every semester, he would call the parents of each one of his students and say something similar to this:
"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, I'm Jim Cross, and I have the privilege of being your child's teacher for world history. I just wanted to call and introduce myself and tell you how much his/her success means to me. If ever you have any questions or if there is any problem I should know about, please feel free to call the school, and I promise to get back to you that very same day. You have a standing invitation to visit my class any time you desire. I'm sure that in working together, we can create a happy and productive year."
You can imagine the response. Most parents had never experienced such effort and consideration from a teacher since the early elementary years. In their eyes, Jim Cross could do no wrong.
There is no honor a teacher can be awarded that has not come Jim's way. Along with making every one of his students completely knowledgeable about his subject, he had also filled their hearts with great memories.
Jim utilized pillars of civility. Every one of their students is treated with... Continue
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