I have always said I have the best students in the school. It's not that they don't have their share of annoying quirks (who doesn't?), but on the whole...there is something so innocent, so open about a high school student who is just learning to speak English. We have fun together. They soak up all the English I can give them, and ask for more. They are playful and wild, and incredibly social.
Part of my job with these kids that I adore is to advocate for them with other teachers. And it always blindsides me to come up against someone who doesn't see them the same way I do. Someone who misinterprets embarrassed smiles as smirks, who see disrespect in a look, when none is intended. Someone who doesn't stop to consider if the student even understood the rant.
If I feel blindsided and sick to my stomach...I can only imagine how the student involved feels. They may not have understood the words...but the message was loud and clear.
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2 comments:
I truly felt you on this post. I'm not a teacher and it's not about my students. I am a manager and it is about my workers. Although one is a brilliant artist, two can take apart, repair and put back together anything you'd care to name, one has no education but can watch the news and come up with profound observations and good, logical, analytical opinions . . they are often treated like the grunts that some arrogant, unfeeling people deem them to be.
Once, in the home of a chemist, Matt was trying to explain how the use of a preconditioning agent would boost the quality of the carpet cleaning and why (chemical reaction/interaction). The chemist asked how Matt knew that and was told that Matt participates in a mandatory program of continuing professional growth. The chemist said, "You mean they send you to school to learn how to vacuum a carpet?"
All is well. The student involved has a joyful spirit and didn't let it get him down.
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