December92009
high/low
This post was originally going to be called “bright spots” or something like that because I wanted to write - for once- about the few things that make me happy and make me excited to teach: the students. Then, I got some news this morning and needed to change the post to “high/low.” In advisory, we do something called check-ins, where a question is asked and everyone around the circle answers before we move onto our activity. One of the more frequent check ins is high-low - you say whats going really well right now and what, well, sucks.
So. High: I’ll use two examples of students as a positive example of “don’t stop believin’” First, B is a student in my regular 11th grade US History class. She’s failed the first two marking periods, not turned in any major assingments, bombed tests, and does inconsistent classwork. Rub her the wrong way and this girl has an attitude like you’ve never seen. Throughout, though, I’ve been trying to provide her with opportunities to show what she does know in the classroom and be able to show this off in front of other students. Without getting all pop psychology, both her attitude and incomplete work seem to be a cover up for some severe self-esteem issues. In short, she thinks she can’t do it and will fail at it, but would never say that or ask for help to cover it up. So little by little, I’ve been sending her notes in class when she does well, or asking her to share the answer when I see she has it right on her paper, and been conferencing with her about what to do better. I asked her last week what I could do to make sure she succeeded this marking period, and she said, “I think its just something I need to do for myself.” I told her to keep thinking if there was anything she needed, and that I wanted her to know that I really believed that she could do it. She smiled - a rarity for her - and has been smiling more in class as she gets more and more answers correct and does more and more work. Its early in the marking period. We’re just a week or two in. But I really hope that her building confidence continues to show through in the work that she’s putting in.
Second example: C was put into my Advanced Placement US History course at the start of the year by his last Global History teacher, even though he has failed a number of classes in his first couple of years here. The kids laughed at the placement, his parents questioned it, and even he asked me why he was here. At first, he wasnt completing enough work and was scoring pretty low on just about everything. His comments in class were random and seemingly without point. As the semester has gone on, though, he is getting some of the highest grades in the class on exams, essays, and quizzes. He regularly participates in discussions in a way that really contributes to the class, and I really enjoy having him around. His aim is to get an A in AP because when he’s off task, I often ask him if he’s got an A and has time to be wasting. He says I wont have any reason to make him be quiet then. ha. I’m hard on him and hard on the class in general because I expect a lot out of them… and we have so far to go. The AP essay grading scale goes up to nine. Most of the kids first essays were at a 0-1. We’re at around a 1-6 range now in the class, with some students showing a lot of improvement if they’re willing to put in the work. It feels great for me to be able to congratulate and praise students like C and see them take that and do even more.
So, the low: I found out this morning that one of my students was arrested yesterday. The teacher I spoke with wasn’t sure, but she said what she had heard was that it was for assault and robbery. I’m not even sure I know what to say about this right now except that it makes me really sad and scared. This kid has multiple personalities, depending on the day and the class period, even. What I’ve seen in the hallways or with other teachers is that one of these personalities is very angry. This is not USUALLY what he is like though. He may be annoying sometimes, but he’s just a goof. He’s not a bad kid. What scares me is that if he gets some kind of time for this that will all shift. And I dont know what happens then for the rest of his future. His mom was here for parent teacher conferences and talked about how much she wants him to to graduate, to go be a responsible man in the world. I can’t imagine how crushing something like this would be to his family if even I feel like I’m reeling from it….
Tags: /positive reinforcement /outside the school /student improvement
