I read this note to my Latin 1's and 2's today after I had given back the tests. A few kids *did* come in to retake parts of the tests; I'm about to go see how they did.
I don't know what they thought.... You don't want to come of as a whining teacher, begging kids to be good. I do know this: one total slacker in Latin 1, a kid who you can tell is seriously thinking about dropping out, came in for lunch tutorials.
I asked him if he wanted to retake any part of the test (which he failed miserably and utterly). No. I told him that we needed to make a deal about having a totally different 2nd nine weeks.
Then I sat down with test and went through part of it with him. I showed him what sorts of things he could have scribbled in the margins; what sort of notes to scribble over certain words; how to be logical about choices and reason out what the right answer was.
I saw a lightbulb or two go off over his little head. Then I looked at him and told him what I could tell about him: he'd rather just not do something than to do it and look dumb (yup, he agreed); he'd been contemplating dropping out (yup). I looked at him and said it would be great for a while--he'd have cash, he could buy things. But then there'd be that glass ceiling where he couldn't get a better job and get nicer things.
I encouraged him instead to reconsider. I said if he thought there really wasn't a point to learning Latin, that he was wrong. I showed him how it could help with spelling and vocabulary, and discussed how it would help his understanding of English grammar. I talked about the transferrable skills it would develop (I didn't think my loftier philosophical goals would do the trick here). I talked about how he could develop the skills needed to graduate and maybe take some college courses and instead of having a crummy job because he was a high-school drop-out, that he could own and run a company that hired high-school drop-outs.
If nothing else, he looked a little shocked that I understood his situation.
It's a long shot. Maybe it will pay off, maybe not. He's my biggest, fattest F right now, and I haven't had time to talk to his parents like I should.
You know what? He's the sort of kid College Board wants to see in the AP classes.... the trick is getting them in there.
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rosecarmine
(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-21 10:59 pm (UTC)I don't know what they thought.... You don't want to come of as a whining teacher, begging kids to be good. I do know this: one total slacker in Latin 1, a kid who you can tell is seriously thinking about dropping out, came in for lunch tutorials.
I asked him if he wanted to retake any part of the test (which he failed miserably and utterly). No. I told him that we needed to make a deal about having a totally different 2nd nine weeks.
Then I sat down with test and went through part of it with him. I showed him what sorts of things he could have scribbled in the margins; what sort of notes to scribble over certain words; how to be logical about choices and reason out what the right answer was.
I saw a lightbulb or two go off over his little head. Then I looked at him and told him what I could tell about him: he'd rather just not do something than to do it and look dumb (yup, he agreed); he'd been contemplating dropping out (yup). I looked at him and said it would be great for a while--he'd have cash, he could buy things. But then there'd be that glass ceiling where he couldn't get a better job and get nicer things.
I encouraged him instead to reconsider. I said if he thought there really wasn't a point to learning Latin, that he was wrong. I showed him how it could help with spelling and vocabulary, and discussed how it would help his understanding of English grammar. I talked about the transferrable skills it would develop (I didn't think my loftier philosophical goals would do the trick here). I talked about how he could develop the skills needed to graduate and maybe take some college courses and instead of having a crummy job because he was a high-school drop-out, that he could own and run a company that hired high-school drop-outs.
If nothing else, he looked a little shocked that I understood his situation.
It's a long shot. Maybe it will pay off, maybe not. He's my biggest, fattest F right now, and I haven't had time to talk to his parents like I should.
You know what? He's the sort of kid College Board wants to see in the AP classes.... the trick is getting them in there.