Don’t Dismiss Jeff Bliss

by Michael F. Mascolo, Ph.D.

I hope you’ve seen the viral video of the high school sophomore who, when his teacher dismissed him from class, launched into a tirade about the quality of the education he was receiving. If not, you can find it at www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bYv2AKPZOk. Jeff Bliss is an 18-year old high school sophomore. He had quit school for a year. Having learned that he would go nowhere without a high school education, Bliss returned to school. The viral video clip occurred after his teacher asked him to leave class, apparently after Bliss complained about not having received the same time as another class did to complete a school assignment. On his way out the door, Bliss delivered the following admonishment to his teacher:

Bliss: [I’m tired of] hearing this freakin’ lady go off on kids because they don’t get this crap. If you can just get up and teach them instead of handing them a freakin’ packet, yo. There are kids in here who don’t learn like that, they need to learn face-to-face. You’re just getting mad because I’m pointing out the obvious.

Teacher: (in a low monotone) No. ‘Cause you’re wasting my time.

Bliss: I’m not wasting your time. I’m telling you what you need to do. You want kids to come in your class, you want them to get excited for this? You gotta’ come in here and you gotta’ make ‘em excited. You want a kid to change and start doing better? You gotta’ touch his freakin’ heart! Can’t expect a kid to change if all you do is just tell him. You gotta’ take this job serious. This is the future of this nation. And when you come in here like you did last time and make a statement about “This is my paycheck”…indeed it is, but this is my country’s future and my education.

Teacher: I respect that. Could you go outside please?

Bliss: But there’s a limit. When I’m not bitching, but simply making an observation. And now I will leave.

Teacher: (mumbling) Thank you.

Bliss: You’re welcome. And if you would like, I’ll teach you a little more so you can learn how to teach a freakin’ class. Because since I’ve got here I’ve done nothing but read packets. So don’t try and take credibility for teaching me jack!

Bliss’ remarks have caused a stir, and some controversy. Some folks have suggested that Bliss’ behavior was simply a petulant outburst about having been sent out of class. Others have decried his actions as disrespectful, rude or overly aggressive. I am not aware of the events that provoked Bliss’ response, as these are not represented on the videotape. Without knowing what assignments were given to Bliss (that is, whether he had been primarily given “packets’ to learn from), or what the teacher had stated the day before about her “paycheck”, we cannot make judgments about whether Bliss’ remarks appropriately describe his teacher’s behavior.

But we can evaluate the content of what Bliss said. If we take Bliss at face value, we know that this young man, having elected to return to high school, does not feel engaged by his teacher. He is angry. And if what he says is true, in my view, his angry lecture is entirely appropriate. There are times when it is appropriate for individuals to stand up to authority in protest of that which they feel is illegitimate, unfair or wrong. To be sure, his teacher does not engage him during his remarks; her monotone is dismissive and she seems to express her attitude clearly: “You’re wasting my time”. It was then that Bliss delivered his most searing and appropriate remark:

I’m not wasting your time. I’m telling you what you need to do. You want kids to come in your class, you want them to get excited for this? You gotta’ come in here and you gotta’ make ‘em excited. You want a kid to change and start doing better? You gotta’ touch his freakin’ heart! Can’t expect a kid to change if all you do is just tell him.

“You gotta’ touch his freakin’ heart.” Although I do not agree with everything Bliss says, there is deep wisdom in this phrase. To be sure, academic learning is very much about reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic. It is about discipline, hard work and respect for one’s teacher. Learning is not always fun; it involves struggle.

But learning is not simply an intellectual affair. It is a deeply emotional one. The deepest learning occurs when we are emotionally invested in what we are learning. And in this way, Bliss is correct: We can only reach the mind through the heart. We learn not simply by taking in information; we learn through our relationships. It is through our relationships – with teachers, parents, other students – that we come to identify for fail to identify with our learning. Learning requires doing; doing requires engagement; engagement requires relationships.

Now, there are many paths to promoting a sense of excitement and engagement in students. While I do not rule it out as one path of learning, I am not one who believes that the primary way to motivate learning is to make it “fun”. We don’t promote learning by simply turning over learning to the student. But this isn’t what Bliss is saying; he says, “You gotta’ touch his freakin’ heart! Can’t expect a kid to change if all you do is just tell him.” There are many ways to touch a person’s freakin’ heart.