M: So Bill, would you say that you're an optimist, or a pessimist?
B: Hmm. I guess I'm usually an optimist. You know the old test, right? Some people look at a half a glass
of water and say "It's half full." Others say, "It's half empty".
M: Right.
B: Well, usually I say "half full".
M: So were there ever any times when your situation looked so bad that you had trouble staying positive?
B: Oh sure. One of the toughest situations I faced was teaching in an inner city shcool.
M: Oh, I didn't know you did that.
B: Yeah, I had already lived and taught in Japan for several years when I decided to do a year teaching in
New York.
M: Wow.
B: The program I volunteered for was part of a state plan to improve teaching in schools in poor, inner
city neighborhoods.
M: Uh-huh.
B: You know that many public schools, especially in big cities like New York and Los Angeles, have very
bad problems, like drug use, discipline, gangs, and things like that.
M: Right.
B: I thought it would be an interesting challenge to teach in a school like that. So I volunteered. I was
assigned to work in a tough section of Brooklyn.
M: Uh-huh.
B: Well, the first day I got there I took one look at that class and was like, "Good Lord. What have I gotten
myself into?"
M: Oh really? Why?
B: There I was, in front of the classroom with my textbook in hand, and only two students were sitting in
their desks. Those two were sleeping.
M: Yeah?
B: The rest of the students were running around the room, making noise, throwing books, it was chaos.
M: Wow.
B: I called for everybody to sit down several times, and everybody pretty much ignored me. Finally, I
slammed the book down on the desk as hard as I could.
M: Yeah.
B: Well, then they quieted down for the most part. But that first week was hell.
M: Really?
B: Yeah. I had planned to use the textbook to teach reading and writing. Classic books from literature and
so on. They showed no interest in that.
M: Might be something they're not used to?
B: Right. One day I went to talk to the principal of the school. I told him I was pretty much at the end of
my rope.
M: Yeah?
B: He was really good, and kept saying, "Come on. Try to look on the bright side. Make the best of the
situation.
M: Right.
B: This is an opportunity to experiment. Try anything to reach the students. Use something they are
interested in.
M: Sounds like good advice.
B: So what I finally decided to do was use music.
M: Oh, good thinking!
B: Any music they like, hip-hop, rock and roll, anything.
M: Uh-huh.
B: They had to bring a song that they liked, and we would talk about the words. Then they'd write about
them.
M: Good idea.
B: Yeah, it seemed to work better than the textbooks. Gradually, they started to gain self-confidence, and
have a better attitude.
M: Uh-huh.
B: After that year, I learned to always try to make the best of a bad situation.

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