Mr. Blanchard: ‘I don’t think we’re taught how to be human very often’
The Abstract
Here at Explore, Mr. Blanchard teaches English; his major is Literature. When meditating upon the virtues of Mr. Blanchard’s classes—either for the purpose of this very article or conceptualizing interview questions—there is but one thing that sticks out most to us: realism. Similar to Ms. Trafton, Mr. Robinson, and many of the other teachers we so greatly admire here—the lessons students learn in Mr. Blanchard’s classes serve to be more than just scholastic, preparing them not only for the academic world, but life in a larger sense. What separates Mr. Blanchard, however, is his frequent commentary on such real-world preparation being his main objective as a teacher; that is his ‘motif’ of sorts, evidenced in both interview and daily class discussion. Mr. Blanchard makes clear his aspiration to integrate pragmatic knowledge—helpful for navigating true-to-life situations—into the curriculum and its more scholarly aspects.
In and out of class, Mr. Blanchard always tries to share the wisdom of lived experience. This knowledge encompasses simple street smarts and advice—useful for not being flowery or intangible, just real; “don't go into a lot of debt for your bachelor's, please dude”, he candidly advised us, or, in another instance: “if you want the college experience—and if you want to save money—just go to UNM, NMSU or even New Mexico Tech.” In addition, Mr. Blanchard also teaches his students about the greater struggles of being human—living with grief or dealing with one’s mental health struggles, as examples—through slideshow presentations given at the end of a term.
Now, none of this is to say that Mr. Blanchard’s classes—or his teaching—are brooding, far from it; his genuineness relates much to humor and, generally, his classroom is a lighthearted one. Our interview was much the same—casual and relaxed. We discussed how much he enjoys FPS video games, as well as his desire to maintain constant improvement in accuracy and beyond; basketball; film and theater as both interests of his and as his educational background; or how ‘smurfing’—an online game taboo—is completely justified in his eyes. Further, we talked with him about his music taste, from heavy EDM to Taylor Swift (his girlfriend’s favorite artist)—making it no surprise that he leads the school’s Friendship Bracelet Club, mirroring a common trend amongst Swifties.
In brief, all of us—teacher or student—can stand to learn something from Mr. Blanchard about the strength of authenticity and vulnerability, even in regards to teaching. For as much as the sanctity of education deserves professionalism, we have to remember that we are emotional human beings who can connect, and we are all walking through stages—however stratified they may be—of a shared, precious existence.
The Transcript
L: What is your favorite film, and what is your least favorite film?
B: My favorite movie of all time is Mad Max Fury Road. It’s a master class in “show don't tell” storytelling and how action can drive a plot. So it's really good. For my least favorite movie, I’d probably have to say [Star Wars: Episode 9] The Rise of Skywalker. It was just a look how they massacred my boy moment, you know? Just watching your favorite franchise burn up in flames, and the disappointment—the sheer and utter disappointment. I mean, that movie was a mess. Even removing the sentimental value of Star Wars, the movie is awful. So yeah, I'd say those are my two.
Z: What attracted you to teaching and in specific being like an English teacher?
B: I guess what attracted me to teaching was like a little bit of desperation, to be honest with you. That and practicality, because my bachelor's degree was in film and theater. I worked on one [film] project—as an extra or something like that—right before the pandemic happened. And after that, I was like: man, I just want healthcare and to know how much money I'm gonna make in a calendar year. So I'm just gonna go to something practical, which was teaching. And teaching has always been on my list, but it wasn’t something I actively pursued until the pandemic happened. With English specifically: My philosophy as a teacher is to try my hardest to prepare people for the human experience. That's why we talked about mental health this term, in addition to grief and loss; because nobody's ever gonna wake up one morning, and be like damn my mom died, good thing I can find the area of a triangle now. So in that sense, English allows me to talk about art—which was what my bachelor's was in—while also being a good avenue to teach people just how to be human, and what they can expect in the human journey.
L: What genres of music do you enjoy?
B: Mostly computer sounds. I'm quite the bass head. So dubstep, mostly. Right now, Excision and Tape B are probably the two dubstep artists I listen to the most. I also listen to Taylor Swift quite a bit, because that's my girlfriend's favorite artist and we saw her over the summer. It was a sobering reminder that things are popular for a reason and you don't have to dislike popular things to be cool. However, my niche is more heavy bass dubstep. I’ve gone to a music festival for the last four years every year called Lost Lands. And that's Excision’s music festival. That's all dubstep and all bass. And yeah, it's quite the blast.
Z: Also, favorite Taylor Swift album?
B: I don't know. I don't know her albums well enough. I just listened to her setlist for her latest tour. So I guess 1989 probably has the most bangers on it, but I'm not too sure.
L: Favorite albums in general?
B: Green Day: American Idiot—or just Green Day in general. They have a lot of banger albums. Green Day was my first favorite band.
Z: What written work would you say has affected you the most or had the greatest impact on your life?
B: Reading the Odyssey in ninth grade was kind of my canon event* into storytelling. You know, like I don't think it's my favorite book or any of that stuff, but I was like, oh wow, I can actually read stories that are fun and exciting. That was the first book that made me realize that storytelling was neat, and it put me on my current path.
*A colloquial term that refers to a pivotal moment in one’s development as a person, shaping their life or personality. The concept originates from the film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, since becoming a meme and phrase of sorts.
Z: What is your favorite book—as a follow up question.
B: I don't know what my favorite book is. I will admit I'm not the most well-read English teacher in the city. That's why I chose to be a literature teacher, just to force myself to be more well-read. If I could pick a graphic novel, I'd say Watchmen is probably my favorite, in that case.
L: Do you think that authors have “authority” over the interpretation of their works; or, do readers hold the right to come away from media with their own messages, regardless of the true intent of its creator?
B: I don't think authors have a choice in how their stuff is interpreted. Using Watchmen as an example: Rorschach is not supposed to be this glamorized hero, but everyone loves him, right? In response, the author has said: “If you like Rorschach, you're a P.O.S. He's awful, he sucks.” The issue is that Rorschach is awesome, and really cool aesthetically. So I think that the author has some authority, but I don't really think that that's how art works. I think once you release it, it's up to everyone else's interpretation.
Z: What are your favorite adaptations from book to film, or even stage?
B: Shutter Island Is a good one for sure—which is why I chose to teach a class on it. The movie also fixes some of the issues with the book’s plot and script. With stage adaptations, I’ll go with: Natasha, Pier & the Great Comet of 1812, based on War and Peace. It’s a phenomenal adaptation, especially from such notoriously boring source material—and it tells such an exciting and human story
L: What are your primary hobbies outside of Explore or work?
B: When I don't have a torn meniscus,* I like playing basketball. But other than that, I enjoy going to music festivals, and raving as well. Also, video games in general. I have a pretty spiffy PC. So I play a lot of shooters and stuff—I'm pretty good at them, so that's kind of nice. So yeah, video games and basketball.
*He gestured to his leg, which—as you would anticipate—had a brace around his meniscus. Surprisingly, it was torn.
Z: How expensive is your PC?
B: I would say it probably cost three to four grand. I mean I wanted to future-proof it, and thankfully I did it right before graphics cards got super expensive. But then if you start including the mouse and your monitor, it can add up pretty quickly. And if you're gonna build a new PC you might as well shell out for it, just so you have about 10 years before it's out of date. Once that happens, you can start replacing one piece at a time. Kinda like the Ship of Theseus.
Z: What's your most unpopular opinion?
B: I’d say that my most unpopular opinion is this: popular things are popular for a reason, and you don't have to dislike popular things just to be interesting and cool, you know? Actually, no, I have a better answer. Smurfing—buying an account that is significantly lower ranked than your skill level—in video games is completely justified. We put in the hours to be better, and sometimes we want to play without having to be "locked in."
L: Alright, this one's a pretty simple question. Red or green?
B: Uh, probably green. I like green.
L: Is there anything it goes really well with?
B: I was just thinking about laser pointers. Yeah, yeah, I like green because of whenever I play shooters, and you can customize your gun in depth. No, no, no, this is serious*. Your opponent will see your red laser more than the green one. So I pick the green one, and they don't see it. That's what popped into my brain. Cause I was literally playing Delta Force yesterday and I was customizing my gun; I put a green laser on the thing.
*We began laughing here, for context.
L: That’s the best answer we’ve gotten.
Z: Laughing, we meant chili in specific.
B: Ohhhh, you meant chili! Oh, if we're doing chili—I like red for the smoky flavor, but I like green for the spice, so I normally do Christmas.
Z: What is most crucial for students to know about transitioning into the adult world?
B: Don't go into a lot of debt for your bachelor's, please for the love of God, dude. I’ve paid off my student loans now at this point, but before, I would always pay them off in front of my class. I'd be like—all right, can I have everyone look at the board please? I'm gonna make $200 disappear. And I'd put $200 to my student loan debt and I'd have them all clap for me. And I hope that anyone who sat there thinking, damn, that was the lamest waste of $200 I’ve ever seen, that they know they’re absolutely correct. Don't go into debt for your bachelor's, please don't. That's probably my most practical bit of advice.
I know it's probably what a lot of people don't want to hear, because many want to move out, go to college outside of their state, and be away from their parents. And today, I just contend that you should live on campus at UNM. It's still going to be substantially cheaper, and you’ll have the college experience you want, because the college experience is just a walkable community. People sit in their cars for every year of their life—every day, for hours on end—and then go, college was the best four years of my life. They don’t realize that it's because they were walking, and in a walkable community. So if you want the college experience—and if you want to save money—just go to UNM, NMSU or even New Mexico Tech. Those are cheap schools—just live on campus. You've got to avoid debt like the plague.
L: And if you want to relive your college years, you should move to Europe, with walkable communities.
B: Yeah, exactly. You know, my girlfriend—early 2023—she did a dance program in New York City. So I went and stayed out there with her. We lived there for about six months, and while it wasn't for college specifically, it still reminded me of college. There's something so clean about being able to walk a quarter of a mile and get a sandwich. And other times I would wake up—it’d be some cold January morning, and I’d walk my girlfriend to her dance studio. We'd wake up at 6 AM, and it'd be raining and cold—the wind blowing—and our train station was a little bit under half a mile away and I'd be like, oh, god, this is gonna suck. But I'd still throw on my jacket and walk. The moment I got to the train station—even though I just walked through the cold and the filth and all that stuff—I felt fantastic, you know? I don't think Americans realize how good living in a walkable community is for them. Here you can't live without a car, which is so, so barbaric.
L: If you had to say, what are some of your favorite memories at Explore Academy?
B: That's a tough one, just because I haven't been here a while. So I can't really point it out. Although, I always like whenever I do my human experiences presentations. Any time I do those presentations, man, I always hope that some of those students will apply some of that knowledge, and be a little bit more prepared for whatever subject we're talking about. So I think that anytime doing that is great. On that subject, I think it is a failure of the education system, in regards to how little prepared a lot of people are to be functional humans coming out of school. I don't know why we don't have cooking classes. I don't know why we don't have financial literacy classes.
Z: We really appreciate them, too. I think they've had a pretty good lasting impact on us. That's good.
B: Glad to hear that, for sure.
Z: In passing and in this interview, you also mentioned that you enjoy video games. So in particular, what games do you frequently play?
B: So, maybe it's the people I surround myself with or something, but I always say: if you have a hobby, why not try to be good at it and improve at it? So a game I play every day is KovaaK's. It's literally an aim trainer. You can do a lot of things with it, but sometimes it's just black dots that appear on my screen and I just click on it for 20 minutes a day. I try to push this philosophy to my students: if you do something for 20 minutes a day, every day for 365 days a year, you will be better than roughly 85 to 90% of people at that thing. And since I primarily play shooters, I want my aim to be good. Even if I don't have time to play video games, I'll still go and play it anyways, just before bed, to stay sharp. Because, why have a hobby and be bad at it? I think you can improve at anything you do, and it becomes more fun because you get better at it. For some other games I play, it used to be a lot of Overwatch when it first came out. I play some Helldivers 2, mainly if I just want to play something and relax, since the game’s kinda brain dead. But to be honest, KovaaK's is the only game I play daily.
L: Are there any particularly special moments in which students have taught you something?
B: One skill I’ve learned from students here is making good presentations. My presentations, while they have good content on them, are so boring to look at. So especially this term, I've been trying to emphasize with my students, to make better presentations—and I'm kind of trying to leech off of that. And because of that, I'm starting to revise all of my presentations just to look better. Generally, there are a lot of good students here. So I feel like I'm always learning in some way from them. So it's kind of hard to point out at a specific moment, in that sense. But with everything I do, I try to improve at it; so I'm always learning in some way, shape, or form. With that said, as a teacher I also try not to work outside of contracted hours, because it's simple economics. You work for free, you cheapen everyone's labor. So I try to not work for free, but I still try to improve within the hours of 7:45 to 3:30.
Z: Regarding your efforts to continually learn something each day, I’ve always enjoyed the phrase (something I’ve stolen from my Mom): if you stay curious you'll stay young.
B: Right, and a good way to prevent Alzheimer’s is to keep learning constantly.
Z: If you were a student here, in which other teachers class would you like to enroll even for a day?
B: Probably some history classes, because I didn't pay attention in history class in high school, so I probably need to relearn a lot of stuff. I also think I might take Mr. Crofton's acting class, because I'm always interested in acting theory and stuff like that. On that note, I myself want to try to teach theater at some point in my life, but it's just easier to become an English teacher. There's only one theater teacher per school, so there's not a whole lot of openings there.
L: How can teachers weave practical, real world knowledge to better prepare students for other complex aspects of life, like aside from academics, into their lessons? And what are some strategies we try to employ?
B: That’s a tough one. I think the easiest discipline to weave in practical knowledge is literature, right? I can teach the human experience from literature research and communication; normally, I try to have students research something practical that they can apply to their real lives. Language classes are a bit tougher in that regard. In argument classes, I try to teach skills in identifying propaganda as part of the material. And if you're a math teacher, I think you should go into the benefits of investing in compound interest and all that stuff, because a lot of students have never even heard of a Roth IRA—stuff like that—coming out of high school. I didn't know what a Roth IRA was until I was 24. If I had known that when I was 18, I'd probably have $20,000 more saved for retirement, something like that. History teachers should absolutely teach how we can learn from the mistakes of the past, ensuring they don’t get repeated.
We're seeing a mistake from the past be repeated right now—Lyndon B. Johnson's vice presidential (1) campaign for reelection against Richard Nixon. He didn't break from Lyndon B. Johnson's policies—those relating to the Vietnam war—and as a consequence, he lost to Nixon. I think we're seeing that right now with Kamala Harris, refusing to break from Biden on the Israel-Palestine issue, which I do think could be problematic in her election bid, especially in Michigan (2). And especially amongst young people and undecided voters, the Israel-Palestine conflict is one of our top issues. She's not really giving us a reason to go vote for her for that reason. It's some political history repeating itself.
He is referring to the 1968 election between Vice President Hubert Humphrey and Former Vice President Richard Nixon. Nixon won the election with 301 electoral votes.
Michigan has the highest concentration of Arab Americans compared to any other state. It is also a highly contested swing state in this year’s election, hence its specific mention here.
Post Election Annotation: He was basically right, as Kamala Harris ended up losing Michigan (and the election), along with every other swing state.
In regards to science teachers, I have no idea how they would implement day-to-day practical knowledge. I guess science teachers could teach about what chemicals do to your body, or the effects of alcohol—all that stuff.
Z: For the second part of that question, regarding what you do to incorporate real-world stuff, mostly just your slide show presentations are kind of the way you try to incorporate overall knowledge, right?
B: Yeah, those slides are really helpful. But I only do it for my literature class, not my other classes. I tried to my first year but the students in those core classes are just a bit too young to get it, whereas with my literature classes, you guys are mostly juniors or seniors—students who are a little bit more in touch with the human experience, because it is a literature class. But yeah, I have a presentation each term that's just about one element of the human experience that I wish I knew growing up. I think my biggest heater* is grief and loss for sure. Then you know, like mental health. Then I have investing for, you know, finance for normies as well, which we'll do next term.
*Translation (for those uninformed of modern slang): I think my best presentation…
Z: Do you think your majors class gives you more freedom to teach the more real world stuff?
B: Yeah I think the school just gives you more freedom in general. You have your own academic standards to teach off of and all that stuff. You want to make your classes practical—preparing students for the human experience, right? I don't think we're taught how to be human very often in school. And I think that we're kind of starting to see that now with our political landscape and all that stuff, you know? It's interesting stuff.
Z: I don't think real world knowledge is inherently separate from academics either; you have to be a human in all walks of life.
Leon Atweh & Zephyr Mack
