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The day's topic: power and powerlessness in Puritan society. We had read, spoken, and written about the Salem theocracy, its rigid social hierarchy, and its relative isolation from other societies. I began the unit with an activity that generated strong emotion in relation to the play's themes. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller's dramatic representation of the Salem witch hunts, John Proctor is faced with a terrible choice-a crucible for his integrity. Accused of witchcraft, he is forced to choose between being hanged for a crime he did not commit and signing a public confession to preserve his life. Proctor's reputation is pitted against his will to live. I prepared a similar-if less intense-crucible for my eleventh-grade students. Although I had planned a crucible for my class, an unexpected test awaited me.
A Simulated Lesson
A substitute had been in for three days while I was at a conference. Students were assigned work, and the substitute indicated that things had gone well. However, in trying to simulate the sense of Proctor's plight, I told the students that I had received reports of very, very bad behavior, and I distributed a handout referencing their misconduct (see fig. 1).
After about two minutes of silence, resentment erupted. Cries of "That's not fair!" and "You can't do this!" resonated. I was bland and matter-of-fact, reflecting their words back to them: "Why isn't it fair? Why can't I do this?" After the students had vented some of their anger, one young man stood up, walked to the front of the room, and tossed his unsigned letter on my desk. "I don't care. I'm not signing that." I accepted his paper, noting that we would soon be meeting with the principal. seconds later, two other boys handed me their signed letters, commenting, "I don't care. It doesn't matter."
One student said I was blackmailing them by threatening punishment. Another said that the substitute should have made them behave. A few expressed concern that the document might affect their reputations in school or eligibility for college. Then Cindy called across the room to Jake, "If we get into trouble, I am going to totally blame you." And then the turmoil swelled. Jake became indignant, and Cindy accused him of having thrown paper....