As we approach the end of March, the Needham High School staff reflects on their least favorite month of the year to teach. Why, you might ask? It’s not because the nice weather is distracting kids from their work. It’s not because college decisions are rolling in and seniors stop caring. It’s not because state standardized testing interrupts teaching schedules. It’s because of the NCAA college basketball tournament known as March Madness. This year was just as “mad” as any other, and teachers had to, yet again, bear the brunt of it. I spoke with several teachers about their experiences, and they all chose to remain anonymous so their students would not be mad (NOT because these statements are entirely fabricated).
The tournament is always a hot topic of conversation, or rather, “hearty debate” for NHS students. One science teacher said that she had to “practically scream over the arguments that my students were having about who was going to win this year” in order to quiet them down for the lesson. “It’s just impossible to teach when there is this much tension running through them,” she continued to say. “I stopped bothering to teach during class. Now I just use the time to grade tests, and the students use the time to watch the games; it’s a win-win.” Many teachers have found it pointless to try and cut conversations surrounding March Madness, as students often turn hostile when their delivery of an “expert opinion” is interrupted.
Verbal hostility appears harmless in comparison to other incidents that have occurred this year. I spoke with a math teacher who said that he had to break up a physical fight between two students. “I heard someone shout, ‘THIS IS FOR PICKING ORAL ROBERTS TO BEAT OHIO STATE,’ and I knew I would have to diffuse the situation,” he said. The math teacher had to pull one student off of the person he was beating up. “There was an animalistic nature to his eyes,” he said, “this time of year really brings out the worst in people.”
Teachers least of all look forward to the annual clan wars that occur during the final days of the tournament. If you are somehow unfamiliar with these clan wars, they happen during the days of the Final Four round and championship game. Students throw all their emotional and physical support behind their picks to win, and it gets pretty intense. For example, this year, do not expect a Gonzaga fan to speak to anyone wearing the color crimson (for Alabama). Three years ago, several students urinated on cars with Villanova decorations on them to show their support for Michigan. Two years ago, school had to be closed early because one Texas Tech fan found a bloody cavalier sword in their locker. Like I said, pretty intense. Teachers hate this because often they have to serve as disciplinarians, peacekeepers, and sometimes, when things get really heated, first aid providers. “I’m afraid to come to school those last couple of days of the torneo,” one Spanish teacher boldly stated; “the students become más aterrador than ever.”
This all begs the question, when will the madness end? Temporarily, the violence will cease on Wednesday, April 7, which is two days after the championship game and when victors will likely have gotten their need to gloat out of their system. In reality, it never ends. Come winter, the college basketball season will start again, and so will the madness. My message to the teachers: appreciate those few months like the days after a stuffy nose clears up, because next year, this year’s losers will be back with a vengeance.