Book Series: Introduction
Three years ago when I came out of grad school with my teaching credential, our society was the actualization of a post apocalyptic nightmare that had taken over the world. No one would have expected Covid-19 to create the madness that ensued. Pre-pandemic I had spent six years as a full time substitute teacher and high school varsity coach, and before my career in education, I had spent my first part of my life as a professional athlete turned businessman running martial art schools in a dog-eat-dog world that takes no prisoners. Many ask, “How did you end up as a teacher?” Well my friends, that is a completely different story that would put JRR Tolkien’s sagas to shame, but I am here. I made it. I am present in this moment. I was beginning a new voyage: teaching. Many told me, “Bless your heart! We need more people like you influencing the youth of our world” …all the way to hearing, “Why on earth would you ever want to do that?”
To make an impact. A part of the other story, which will later become the prequel novels to this, was finding my purpose in life. What was I designed for? Why am I here? Without too much digression, I had a freak accident that tore my right leg up, requiring me to completely take a three year hiatus from life itself, managing multiple surgeries, physical and mental therapy, and the icing and all the toppings that experience brought. Who said you can’t have your cake and eat it too? Whoever said that is a liar! That exhilarating series of events helped me discover clarity in understanding why I exist. Through deep reflection, I came to find I love inspiring people. I love being around people, listening, talking, sharing human experiences, and even dreaming and imagining the future and what it brings. If you were to wrap that up in a pretty little bow, many would say I was born to be a teacher.
After getting hired in my first full capacity as a credentialed teacher, you find there is a multitude of personalities of “experts” saying what best practices are, the tools they use to drive results, or in my opinion the lack of tools they use. Then there are others that roam the educational landscape as managers telling others what they should be doing, how they need to be doing it, when they need to be doing it, and then adding extra curriculum steps into the process that is mostly broken already, which in turn just creates more issues as learning “spirals” through. Everybody has something, and you must do it. I feel sometimes that the education industry is trying to indoctrinate everyone they possibly can into whatever pedagogy cult they belong to. Sometimes it’s insane. Normal people like you and me continue to search for answers while others are privately conducting their instructional seances.
My designed purpose does not just target educators, but everyone in between. The true goal is students because they are the future. I am not cliche, but it’s the honest truth. Time does not bend for anyone unless you are Miss Minutes, Thanos, or Tony Stark creating the Time Arc. No matter what, we will all continue to get older and within that process, lose our ability to influence those that are learning from us because their generation will eventually take our responsibility over, and begin to use what we have given them plus new discoveries that will be unveiled during their lifetime. So our time is fleeting, and we need to do everything within our short time of influence to create this change.
In classes, a hook exists. Some way for the educator to latch the student onto whatever they are trying to deliver. To actually get the student engaged is a multi-layered approach that includes personality, style, content, focus, behavioral management skills, and so much more. Most people can manage this and be an effective teacher. Then there are others that don’t, and those are probably the teachers that your kids come home and tell you as their parents how much they dislike them. I am not holding back, because there are those that are in the educational industry for themselves, not others. If you know this type of person, encourage them to leave education. We do not need those types of people leading our youth into the future anymore. We need impassioned people who will humbly give themselves to their subjects because they know their service will benefit the world as a whole. If we could do that, that’s when we will truly see change because our children, students, and everyone in between will finally begin to follow someone who they can trust and believe in to learn from. This is the transformative impact we need. This is where my journey begins.
As a part of the previously mentioned hook, teachers will use different tools, themes, etc. to open the doorway to build bonds with their students. While I could mention a plethora of different ones here, my main focus is to bring attention to my research. When I first started education, through substituting, I had seen thousands of different classrooms, set-ups, and instructional implementation through classroom design. After the pandemic, I was walking through rooms and noticed these little “toy statues” – that I now call my learning tools. At first, I did not give it any second attention. After a few different visits, I noticed things popping up on teacher desks, on a shelf, or somewhere random with teacher stuff. I finally started asking questions. “Hey what’s this? Oh you like such and such…?” whatever that little toy intended to represent in their personality. After I found out these little things were called Funkos, I came to find they came in many different categories of social influence. They were cute and fun, and I did not have one. So I looked them up online. Reading the Funko Story and how the Funko itself was created for my generation, reminding us of the nostalgia toys of the late 70’s and early 80’s, made me want one even more. A few days after I started discovering how cool Funkos were, I had a student actually randomly bring in their Funko to show me. They told me that I reminded them of this character. They had brought in a Minion Funko because I reminded them of Gru because I looked like Gru. They told me I was bald, big bellied, and silly like Gru was in the movies. They said they were like the Minion and I was like Gru, because the Minions listen to Gru, and that Gru tries to lead them to accomplish their mischievous plans. Hearing this, I couldn’t help but laugh. Then the student went to their next class, and I was in shock because the kid had just told me I was bald and fat! I chuckled and just shook my head. Silly kid.
What happened next was from what the “silly kid” had said. Later in the day, I began to really think about it. Here is this kiddo, with no fear, because he had an open relationship we had built in class, telling me how they felt and how they could see something from this “Funko” he brought to show me explaining aloud his feelings and emotions. It was like lightning had struck me. What if I was to use a Funko and everything that the character represented to help start a conversation that we could use for students to create a voice for themselves? Boom. My experiment was born.
Over the past three years, I have been using my learning tools in my class to open pathways in our Social Emotional Learning. Year One, I had eighteen Funkos by the end of the year the students could use. Year Two started with thirty six and ended with eighty-five. In the beginning of Year Three, I am already approaching 100 Funkos on display to help kids find their voice. I have data and research from pre-assessment to post assessment with Literacy Standards attached because the Social Emotional Context has help me design a way for students to not only use their unlocked voice in social collaborative situations, but now has transformed their abilities to critically think and communicate their thoughts and opinions through created writing assignments that align with our Grade Level Educational Standards. It has been quite an eye opening project, and I believe it has elevated new ways for learning.
With results and continual discoveries from my work, I have been encouraged to share them with you and challenge the status quo of learning. Within this, it has been suggested multiple times through multiple people to write a fun and inspiring book that explores my work. Today is the day my Research Project is no longer just a research project. Today is the day it is the blueprint of something special I can share with you and anyone else that wants a “different way” to connect with others. I hope that you will join me as we take a deeper look into The Funko-Hulme Experiment.
To find out what happens next… Subscribe to my blog here for the next chapter. Follow me on all my platforms for more #Inspiration – Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, SoundCloud, and Youtube.
Written By Chris Hulme ( aka – Coach Hulme ) #CoachHulme #ChrisHulme #TheHulme
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Coach Hulme 