The first full weekend of football and the Bears, Huskies, and Seahawks all won. I can’t remember when that last happened. Next week will be a bigger test as they face Kentwood, USC, and the 49 er’s, but for now it feels really good!
I’ll share a short personal story to follow up on Chris Feist’s comment to the last post. It once again demonstrates the importance of relationship to success in school. The president enjoys the respect of most youth because of his position and as Chris suggests, his speech had a positive influence on the students he works with and many others. I also believe that teachers have the opportunity for this same respect, but once given it must be earned to sustain over time. This respect opens the door to a positive relationship or, once lost, closes the door and lessens the potential for student attachment to the teacher and to the learning.
The story involves my granddaughter who attends school in a neighboring district. Ciara is a fifth grader who enjoys school and works hard. School is not easy for her and she is most successful with teachers that she perceives as caring and supportive of her. This weekend she asked me a lot of questions about when I was a teacher and then asked how you transfer out of a teacher’s class. She said her best friend had transferred and would be in a different class on Monday because the teacher was strict. This means she yells, doesn’t let them have the snacks they want, and doesn’t care about how they feel. With her friend gone she was not feeling good about returning.
The part that is really telling is when she told me that she was really looking forward to school starting this year, that she had missed it. And now, all she wants to do is transfer classes or not go at all. She asked if it was possible to go to Rock Creek where I work. This change in attitude and quite possibly effort took place after just one week in her new fifth grade classroom. It doesn’t take very long to lose that opportunity.
No comments:
Post a Comment