And the same with poetry — I like poems that make me feel like the writer knows me or trusts me in some way [ or feel like ] a close conversation with someone . That relationship is central to both things I do .
R : How do you interpret the meaning and mission of a laboratory school like Falk ?
B : Two words that come to mind are freedom and responsibility . There ’ s a unique latitude to what a lab school allows faculty and teachers to do , where you aren ’ t boxed in the same way you might be in other situations and other placements . If I choose to completely change what I do in my unit as I ’ m doing it , that ’ s a latitude I ’ m given to best serve students . I don ’ t have to keep going down the same paths if I don ’ t feel it ’ s working . And there ’ s a responsibility in that as well , to make sure what you ’ re doing is always in service of educating people — or , the way I think about it , helping young people become who they want to become . And I take that really seriously . It ’ s one of the reasons why I feel so fortunate to get to work in a lab school such as Falk on top of having been able to attend when I was a student .
R : What do you like about teaching middle school ?
B : I love teaching middle school students because these things are new to them . I also enjoy the challenge of taking poetry , which in many contexts people are like , “ It ’ s not for me ” or “ That ’ s not interesting ” or “ That ’ s not fun or exciting ,” and taking kids through the process of looking at poems . Thinking about why are they written ? How are they written ? What are they trying to do ? What forms are there ? What gestures and terminology exist ? And then to have them write it themselves , instead of just reading from an anthology , not simply doing analysis but really doing the hands-on work of thinking to yourself : “ I have something to say ; I have ways of making meaning for myself .” Kids who are 12 and 13 years old may not always think that they have anything “ important ” to talk about . They don ’ t think they ’ ve lived long enough . And I kind of disagree . I say , “ You have experiences , you have opinions , you ’ re growing into becoming these people you ’ re becoming , and you can write about that .” The challenge is convincing them of that . I ’ d like to think that by the end of the unit , most kids come around to it . They realize that there ’ s a lot of freedom to do what they want , and that ’ s appealing .
R : What is it like to teach in the school that you attended ?
B : Definitely the first year or two , switching from calling some of my former teachers Mr . and Mrs . So-and-so to more casual first names was difficult — intimidating , with Ms . [ Eileen ] Coughlin . But a weird thing and a really beautiful thing is moving from having just the former student / teacher relationship to becoming colleagues to becoming friends . And I ’ ve been fortunate to do that with all the people I work with here . It feels special to me . I don ’ t know that everyone would necessarily feel this way , but the places that have made me , I always feel some custodial attachment to them . It matters to me to be able to revisit those places and partake in taking care of them for whoever comes next . That ’ s how I see myself here at Falk . I had really cool experiences , foundational things that shaped me that I still reflect on , and part of my mission , hopefully , is to pay that forward to the students who come through my classroom . Getting to do that at the same school is a unique opportunity . ■
FALK LABORATORY SCHOOL | UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH 9