Making a Difference
One of the most wonderful things about teaching kids is making a difference in their lives. I was inspired to write this blog after sharing a story with a colleague about one of my former students. This student completely turned his life around 180 degrees and I was convinced after sharing this story that teachers do make a difference in their students’ lives in one way or another.
This story was about a student who had a bad reputation in the school. I had not met this student before in grades 8-10, but he certainly had a legacy that I did not want to know about. I would best describe him as a ‘tough guy.’ He was known for his physical strength, but when he entered into my Principles of Math 11 classroom I saw intellectual strength. This ‘tough guy’ was a ‘smart guy.’
This student started the Math 11 course with a B, but his grade steady declined. As his grade decreased, the more disengaged this student got. This student relied much on his natural talent or ‘gift for math’ to get by. There is always a turning point for this kind of learner. There are limitations with natural talent and without nurturing the natural talent, the grade will one day dramatically drop.
He lost hope. This student gained more of my attention due to behaviour management instead of intellectual engagement. One day, he stayed after school and approached my desk. I was sitting down and he hovered over me, pointing at me… “You are a bad teacher”… “I’m going to drop this course”… “I’m going to fail anyway.” Albeit intimidated, I was unwilling to accept his claims. I rebutted with “Come to tutorials”… “Think about retesting”… “You don’t have to repeat the course.”
Nothing happened for a few days, then one day he walked into my class during lunchtime tutorial. He sat down face-to-face with me and said, “help.” My personal fear quickly turned into JOY. I replied, “You’ve got to start doing homework.” One step a a time, one day at a time… we strategized, we struggled, we conquered. By the end of the semester, he changed his failing grade to an A. In fact, he achieved 88% in the course work and 88% on the final exam. A true victory!
This student was able to transfer what he learned about himself and his ability to learn to other courses and other facets of his life. Before I left teaching, this student started my Math 12 course with no-retesting, doing homework assignments, and achieving grades in the top 10% of his class. In the end, he graduated from high school with a School District Scholarship. As much as I may feel like I made a difference in his life, he in turn made a HUGE difference mine. Thanks Dom!