Sunday, September 30, 2007

Foolish attempt

At the start of every class, a student is randomly selected to go to the board and fix a sentence. Most really, really, really don't want to be selected, but they reluctantly go if chosen.

After struggling for a couple of minutes, one seventh period student heads back to her desk. She's usually a cheerful student, volunteering answers and sparking class conversations. But she looks dejected after her turn at the board. I overhear her comment to a friend, "I just made a complete fool of myself."

I want to make her feel better about herself, but I don't want to make a production of it. If I say anything out loud, she might feel worse. So I grab a Post-It note, quickly scribble a comment and place it on her desk. She smiles.

What would you have written? My comment to her is in the comments ...

11 comments:

teacherman said...

Ha! I got you to click on the comments! Since you're here, feel free to comment on how much you hate this blog. It's easy. It's fun. It makes me think you didn't just accidentally stumble upon this page.

Anyway ...

My Post-It comment to her was this:

"Fools are people that don't try. Thanks for trying!"
--Not-so-famous quote

Anonymous said...

I just found your blog a few weeks ago and love your take on life in the school system. I have a niece who is also a teacher in the Chicago area, in Cicero.
Just a fan in Florida.

Anonymous said...

great blog.

"for me, givin' up is way harder than tryin'"
-- Kanye West

Anonymous said...

I'm reading every day--your blog is terrific!

Unknown said...

I enjoy your bog from Colorado. Makes me smile ...

teacherman said...

Wow ...

Thanks to everyone!
I'm humbled by your response.
So I must write more ...

middleson said...

i read your blog last year constantly, and then you didn't blog all summer (no school) and i was a little worried that you were done with it. but now your back and i'm LOVING LOVING LOVING it. i'm a first year teacher this year so i'm connecting with lots of your topics.
thanks for taking the time to share.

Anonymous said...

I think you did that for me once when I had to dress girly for Freshwater's mock-trial thingy. Ha! Thanks! Actually, h20 just told me to check out the site. It's good not to read anything class related.
-summer

teacherman said...

welcome back, summer!
Hope sophomore year's going well for you ...

Cynthia said...

But I DID just accidentally click on your blog and now I have to keep reading it. It sounds like the kids you teach are lucky to have you as an engaged and interested teacher. I was a teacher in Texas years ago and replaced an inept art teacher who had a whole giant store room filled with carefully cataloged supplies and the kids drew every day with pencils on white copier paper. Had for years. He was saving the 'good' supplies for someone with talent, he said. I burned through them the first semester and the kids didn't know what to do with colored chalk or paint. He had been in the same room since the school opened in 1976.

teacherman said...

Thanks, Cynthia, but I often think that I'm the one lucky enough to have a group of engaged and interested students that make my life engaging and interesting. As for the art teacher, what can I say? Every teacher in every school can probably relate, right? I'm just wondering what happened to you. What do you mean by "I was a teacher"?