Classroom Conversations: Mr. Delight & Natasha
The sun is out, progress reports are in, and state testing is on everyone’s minds in the middle school hallways. On a bustling Tuesday in April, 6th-grade social studies teacher Mr. Delight and student Natasha Z. were kind enough to take a study break for an interview with The Huddle.
Connection is a hallmark of USN culture, and this is a glimpse into the dialogues that define our campuses. Below, Mr. Delight and Natasha come together to interview each other and discuss all things stories, continually improving as spring heads to summer, and taking a deep breath.
The Huddle: Let’s start off with introductions, and then you two can take it away.
Natasha: Yes! My name is Natasha. I’m a sixth-grade scholar from the class of OWU [Ohio Wesleyan University]!
Mr. Delight: My name’s Mr. Delight. I teach sixth-grade social studies, and my homeroom is OWU.
Mr. Delight: Natasha, I think I remember you saying your dream college was Harvard. Am I right? Why do you want to go to Harvard?
Natasha: Yes, I want to go to Harvard. It’s been my dream college ever since I was little. I’ve always wanted to make my parents proud by going there, so I’ve always wanted to work hard and get in. Moreover, I’ve also wanted to get a good job. I haven’t decided what that is, but I have open options — a lawyer, a CEO, other options!
Mr. Delight: Nice! That’s great.
Natasha: How about you? What made you want to teach?
Mr. Delight: I really liked social studies when I was your age - actually, ever since I can remember, all the way through high school. When I was in high school, I had a social studies teacher who I was really inspired by and I thought, “I want to do that when I’m older.” I decided at that point to do it!
Natasha: What’s your favorite thing about your job?
Mr. Delight: I think getting to talk to you and the other students about what you’re doing outside of school — like, getting to hear what you did over the weekend. Things like that.
Also, I enjoy the questions that, actually, you, specifically, ask me, Natasha. You ask some really good questions in social studies, and they’re always so fun to answer, even if I don’t have a good answer for you. I just really enjoy talking about those questions.
Natasha: What’s your favorite topic you get to teach about?
Mr. Delight: I really liked our last unit, our economics unit. I thought that was really fun, and I thought it was really engaging for you and your class! You got to talk about money and how it works.
I thought that was a really fun unit, but I’m excited for our ancient civilizations unit we’re starting now. We’ll get to watch some really interesting documentaries, which I’m looking forward to. And maybe even a project, we’ll see!
Natasha: Are we going to be learning about the Mayan civilization?
Mr. Delight: I don’t think so! I don’t think we’re talking about the Mayans, sadly, but maybe I could find you some resources on it if you want to learn about the Mayans. Are the Mayans particularly interesting to you?
Natasha: My sister, who is in second grade, is learning about ancient civilizations, too. She tells me about it after school!
Mr. Delight: Oh, okay! That’s interesting — well, we’ll get you some information, so that you can have something to talk to her about there.
Mr. Delight: Natasha, how can I be the best teacher while finishing this year? What do you think?
Natasha: It’s important to have patience!
Mr. Delight: That’s good feedback. I’ll continue to work on that. That’s something I’ve been thinking about coming into your classroom. Trying to be “reset.” Take a breather.
Natasha: How can I be the best student for the rest of this year?
Mr. Delight: I don’t know — you already do a lot! You raise your hand a lot, you volunteer in class, you get your work done, you don’t talk when I ask you not to…
Hmm, maybe when there’s group work, you can ask someone who’s working alone to work with you. You get work done, and it’s really strong, so you can share those ideas and push someone else to do some really strong work, as well.
Natasha: Okay, I can try to do that!
Mr. Delight: What’s your favorite activity outside of school?
Natasha: Usually, I’m an introvert! I like peace and quiet. Sometimes, I just sit down and read an interesting book and be in my bed, watching my phone. Since I have little siblings, though, I have to do a lot of stuff, so I like the cool and chill activities.
Mr. Delight: How many siblings do you have?
Natasha: Three!
Mr. Delight: And you’re the oldest? Do you think you’re setting a good example for them?
Natasha: Yes! And I have no idea. Maybe I am, because my goal was to get an A in math, for example, and I finally achieved that.
Mr. Delight: That’s great.
Mr. Delight: What book are you reading right now?
Natasha: Right now, in ELA class, we’re reading Chains [by Laurie Halse Anderson]. It’s a very interesting book. I thought it would be just very sad, but when I asked my teacher, Ms. Felbaum, she said it’s important to read to figure out the depth in it.
It’s about slavery and how a Black, enslaved girl, Isabel, and her younger sister, Ruth, were to be freed by their “Madam,” but, sadly, her Madam’s uncle did not let her free them. So, they’re enslaved with a very unkind, harsh woman called Mrs. Lockton. They’re also Loyalists.
Mr. Delight: It sounds like you know a lot. That’s great.
Are you reading a book on your own, as well?
Natasha: Yes! I was just reading From the Desk of Zoe Washington [by Janae Marks]. She is a girl whose father went to prison, but he was not guilty of the crime of murdering this person, Lucy, who died. They’re trying to figure that out, and once they find he’s not guilty, they find a lawyer to free him.
Mr. Delight: That sounds really interesting!
Natasha: What’s your favorite book to read?
Mr. Delight: Right now, I’m reading these short stories by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa. They’re translated Japanese stories. I read one of his stories in college and really enjoyed it, so I got a book of his short stories.
One of them is about a long, droopy nose. It blows in the wind, it’s so long and droopy.
[Mild skepticism from Natasha.]
And the guy really wants a shorter nose, so he does everything he can to get a shorter nose. But, once it’s shorter, people think that, now, it’s acceptable to laugh at his nose in public. So, he goes back to wishing he had a really long nose again.
Natasha: It sounds like a funny story, but it sounds like a story about learning to accept who you are. It shows that people don’t like you if you’re this or that, and you don’t have to change what you are.
[Mr. Delight nodding.]
But it sounds like he changed it for his own good because it might be difficult to walk around and do daily activities, so!
Mr. Delight, laughing: Yeah, they have to hold his nose up while he eats because it gets in the way of him eating. [Natasha: Eugh.] It’s a funny picture. It's a funny mental image.
Natasha: Do you have any other current read?
Mr. Delight: I’m reading American Prometheus [by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin]. It’s about Oppenheimer, who made the atomic bomb. It’s interesting, but it’s a really long book, so it’s taking me quite a while to get into it. Sometimes I just can’t read it! It’s too much for me that day.
Natasha: Is that the book you were reading while we were taking the exam?
Mr. Delight: No, that was the short stories. That one’s easier to pick up and put down. It was better for when you guys were testing!
Natasha: What goal do you want to achieve so students can be better when we go to 7th grade?
Mr. Delight: Oh, that’s a good question. I think I want to do a bunch of analysis questions. Questions where you have a document, and you have to come up with your own ideas about how that would influence a civilization. Something like that, where it would prepare you for being really good at writing out strong, independent, thinking ideas. I think that will really prepare you for 7th-grade history.
Natasha: One thing you may be able to do is assign projects! Sometimes the projects show independence, build creativity, and build our imaginations.
Mr. Delight: A project that helps you be creative?
Natasha: A project that helps you be creative, be independent, and help you build more friendships.
Mr. Delight: That’s a good idea! I’m going to have to think about that. I’ll run some ideas past you, and we can come up with a fun project.
The Huddle: To close up, what is one thing you appreciate about one another?
Mr. Delight: I appreciate that you never complain. You‘re always willing to give something a chance. Even if it’s not your favorite, you try your best. And I think that’s really courageous.
Natasha: One thing I appreciate about you is that you’re fun, and you give a lot of chances. You give warnings. You excuse yourself and think about the reasons why you want to be a teacher and the things that your students do for you that you appreciate. You calm yourself down, and you come back to class. You say, “Take a moment. Take a deep breath.”
With the interview coming to a close, Mr. Delight expresses genuine gratitude for Natasha, her time, her efforts, and her feedback. This duo embodies the profound trust between student and teacher, fostering constructive conversations and igniting the joy of storytelling that resonates daily within our schools.
Thank you to both Mr. Delight and Natasha for speaking with The Huddle.
