I can do this!

It's day 3, I'm reading the rest of the letters that students have written us. These letters are cracking me up, giving me new perspective and respect for my students, and reaffirming to me that they want to learn and be successful. As I sit in the living room correcting some of their grammatical errors and commenting back on their ideas I think, "This is fun. I like checking their homework. I could definitely do this for the rest of my life." Ideas also begin to formulate in my head about exercises and Bellwork we can do that incorporate their letters, and other written work, for the students whose goals were to improve their writing and grammar skills.

I realize that I'm going to need to remember this day and these letters. I'm guessing that not everyday will be this encouraging and fun. When I'm in the thick of it there are going to be days that I need to remind myself that even though a student maybe arguing with me or not listening etc. etc., that deep down they really do want to learn. They need me to provide structure and focus because they want to be successful. They told me in their letters that it isn't their objective to cause trouble or be disruptive. Not one student wrote that they wanted to fail, receive a D or and F, or argue with me. Most included a note about wanting to be my "favorite student". Some included an precursor that explained, "I'm not a bad kid, but sometimes I talk too much." It makes me sad to think that they think they feel they need to explain to me that they are not "bad" kids.

(Side note: For some reason it seems that many girls, age 12-16, find it important to tell you their astrological sign, birthday, and favorite color(s). This amuses me.)