I am learning to redefine success in the classroom, because it isn't always reflected in test scores. In fact, in this particular school it is easy to get discouraged if formal assessments are the only indicator. There are so many things that kids learn at school (most that the teacher doesn't ever create a lesson plan for) and today I wanted to write some of the best achievements.
#1 - MQ said "Thank you". MQ (name changed) is a student whose background I don't know much about, but if his behavior is any guide it isn't too hard to fill in the blanks. He comes in every day without smiling (I have only ever seen him smile once - no exaggeration), he is constantly muttering to himself ("If he do that again I gonna beat his head" and "I ain't gonna do nothin'. Y'all can't make me do nothin'"), and he rebels at the slightest correction from authority figures. He is an amazingly good student academically, but his volatile nature makes it hard for him to work with partners or in teams. My co-teacher and I try to praise every ounce of positive that we can, and we pick our battles carefully when it comes to correction, but before today I had never heard MQ respond in a positive way. It was a really simple thing: he asked for a juice and I handed him one. But he said "Thank you"!!!
#2 - TR gave me a high five. TR is a special ed student because he has extreme difficulty focusing, sitting still, being quiet, etc. Not only that, he is often defiant and last week he threw a tantrum that merited a call to security. The guard spent an hour with him before he was ready to come back into the classroom. As for his home life, I can only guess from his mother's responses to our calls ("He ain't my problem now") that there isn't a lot of support from that angle. But today my co-teacher asked him to help put the leftover milk from breakfast in the mini-fridge, and he and I spent about 5 minutes organizing it so that everything would fit. We finally arranged it so that every last milk carton had a place, and when I held out my hand for a high five he smiled and gave me one.
#3 - KS understood a math problem! We have been working on the same mathematical concept (fractional parts of a set) for an entire week, and while the concept isn't a difficult one, there are about 5 students in the class that still struggle with it. KS is one that has been extremely challenging to teach math to because she only takes in about 20% of what the teacher says, she can't read the word problems, and the pictorial representations don't make sense to her on their own. But today she solved a problem on her own, and showed correct reasoning in her problem-solving process! She was the last one to finish the math test, but she didn't give up and in the end her 3 out of 8 problems correct was a huge victory.
#4 - KV talked! KV is a good student, but the kind that you never hear. He is shy and doesn't ask questions in class, and especially with me he won't talk other than simple "yes" or "no" answers. I met his mother, a wonderfully sweet lady who is refreshingly calm in this loud and verbal environment. I have also heard a little about his father, who is in prison out of state. KV is the oldest of three boys in his family, which I would usually expect would make him more outgoing, but he keeps to himself and is definitely non-confrontational. (Note: last week the crazy French teacher whose accent, although real, reminds me of Steve Martin's in Pink Panther, wrongfully accused KV of trying to hit him during class. This teacher yelled at him in the hallway, threatening him with bodily harm if he ever tried anything again, and even threw out a threatening "I know Kung Fu!" in a way that made me want to laugh, except that I was too enraged for KV's sake. KV was shaking like a leaf and couldn't even stutter out an explanation, but we found later that the French teacher had confused him with another notorious troublemaker in the class. The French teacher never apologized.) Anyhow, today at the end of class KV asked me a question about our point system, and I was so happy and pleased to answer! He talked!!!
So those are the little successes of today. They help me at times when I am struggling to remember why on earth I ever wanted to be a teacher, because teachers don't get much pay, praise, or sleep. They help me when I am grading papers and see that 15 out of 20 students score consistently below 50%. They help me to hope for these students when hope is hard to come by.
But there is so much to hope for!
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