My kids are people. Sometimes they forget that. Sometimes their teachers forget that. Sometimes I forget that (I’m not perfect). However, I think the key to this teaching thing is remembering that. These kids are people. They need, want and hunger to be treated like people who have a value and are respected by others around them.

A confession

One of my first period students said the most amazing things to me this week. In light of the fact that it is startlingly clear that she will fail my class due to missing work not yet made up, she is working to improve her grade. During a brief moment when we were talking about this, she said “I’m not trying to make excuses for this, but I wanted to let you know…” The end of the sentence was that her school-bus driver had not been picking her and her sister up in the mornings, and this was why she had been chronically absent this semester. The “but” wasn’t the excuse trying to get slipped in. There’s a difference between an excuse and an explanation. She was sincere.

Am I responsible for her outlook? I’d like to think so, but I’m not that conceited. I certainly hope that the environment that I create in my class is one that inspires the intrinsic reward from achievement. After all, she was still trying to improve her grade. And I’m not one for excuses. For example, when homework is not done, I don’t care why. I’m sensitive to issues in my students’ lives, but I can’t allow that to excuse us from meeting the high expectations.

What’s the moral here? She knows she is smart person. She knows I think she is smart person. She knows I expect her to be able to achieve at the high levels which I have set for her.

She ended with, “Now that things are worked out, I’m going to work harder next quarter.” That’s the personal commitment that I want from every student.

An intervention

My sixth period has become the rowdiest period. I credit this partly due to the fact that two students with identified behavioral disorders and one other who “had previously been identified” as having challenges joined the class. Sometimes we get a lot of work done — and it is of the highest of qualities. Sometimes we don’t. So it goes. I have to make the best I can out of every moment.

To that end, my students love to talk about the “100% at 80%” challenge in which I have promised to shave my head if 100 percent of students who take a quiz make at least 80 percent on one of the objectives. This class is always trying to get me to up the ante. One day is was to get a guy named Shakes to shave my head; I got out of that by saying I’d only let a licensed hair cutter do it. This Monday we were at it again with talk about the forthcoming test. This time students were trying to get me to agree to dress like them for a day.

Imitation can be a sort of flattery, and I can understand why students want to see me outside the professionally-dressed lens that they have to know me through. What was not ok about this request is that one of the students said something to the effect of “Dress like us, like you’re not educated.” At this point, I stopped starkly. I had to correct this statement. My reply was “But you are educated. You are no different than me. I’m just a little older and had a few more years of school.”

The conversation continued, and we identified and reconciled this self-deprecating statement and self-image. The take home message that got the “I get it” stares: they are people of value to me and they should value themselves, too.

An interruption

One of the smarter students transferred to me this quarter is also a student who has, this year, had many problems with staying on the straight and narrow path. Read: His parole officer and deputy juvenile officer still visit the school regularly. Also read: This kid will be one that we have definitely saved.

So this student, K, was excited and nervous about the big test this week. He wanted to do well. He wanted to not only pass my class but reach to get a B (remember, many/most students are just failing my class due to apathy).

K passed me in the hall in the morning and asked to preview the test that he thought was in my hand to “see what it looked like.” I, of course, said no. Then later, he stopped in during a passing period to ask a question. The test was out and he was gunning to just get a glimpse. He noticed that it seemed similar to the review sheet I had given out last week. I confirmed it was a similar format.

Then I asked, “Would it be fair if I had you prepare one way and then tested you another?” He didn’t really answer. I happen to know that this student was really frustrated with my class upon being transferred because it was, in all senses, very challenging.

Rather than wait for a response, this is when I seized the silence to advance my own position. I said, “There’s a difference between being challenging and being fair. I want you to say that this class is hard. I want you to be challenged. But I also want you to always say that I’m being fair.”

K liked this. At the time I’m writing this, I haven’t yet graded his test. I do, however, feel that I’ve won him over for the long-haul despite his performance today. I’ve allowed him to experience how hard work can lead to success, and that is fair for anyone.

Update

Here are K’s scores on each of the five objectives from the test: 100%, 85%,93%,68%, and 90%. Not that bad at all. Four of five at 80% or better, which is what I’m concerned about.