Top 10 Student Quotes of the Year, Pt 2

*Quick Note: Since writing this on Sunday, my kids dropped some great additions (it's only Tuesday), so I will probably add to this series later.

So, here we go with Part 2 of the Top Quotes from Students the past year. They are not necessarily the funniest, most enlightened, sharpest, or most clever. Some are. Each one is on the list for its own reason. 

And away we go.

#5 "You have to admit: I HAVE grown." 

This actually a really important statement. The student I have front and center in my mind is a bit of a perfectionist, and this comment was about her growth in that area, in allowing herself to not be perfect, for a little while, and make mistakes. I have had her in class for multiple years, in multiple classes. She is talented and bright, and as a sophomore, she got in her own way so often. She would basically freeze up, or melt down, if she couldn't be perfect. Now, understand that I am not pushing our kids to settle for mediocre or to just get by rather than striving to be great. What we had many discussions about was that she was not going to be perfect every time in every effort she made. And that is ok, because by letting herself be imperfect, she would grow and develop and eventually be great, or at least better than she was to begin with or than she would have been if she just stopped trying if she couldn't be perfect. And she is 100% correct: she has grown, immensely. She still gets frustrated when she struggles, but she also knows how to work through those struggles, she will ask for help without seeing it as a weakness (sometimes), and she is becoming much closer to her own "imperfectly perfect". 

#4 "Can I stay after and read my poem for you?"

Oh, if you teach English, you know how much this statement can mean. The student who asked me this had not spoken much in class. Her writing was good, and the ideas that came through in that form were well-developed and showed a great deal of critical thinking. But we do a lot of discussion in that class, and this student had not been heard from very often. She listened intently, and I saw through our written activities and responses that she was "getting it." But one day during our poetry unit, she asked if she could stay after and read an original poem to me. A friend stuck around for support and listened. The student turned away from me, and,phone in a shaking hand, read the poem she had written. I will not go into the content, but it helped me better understand why she had not spoken up very much in class. It was so incredibly well-written, swirling together the techniques we had studied in the poems we covered in class. It was sincere and honest, it I was touched that she was willing to write, and even more impressed that she had read it aloud. It meant a lot to me. It always means a lot to me when students allow me in, even if it is an assignment, and they allow themselves to be vulnerable and take risks in their writing. I think that shows a great deal of strength on their part. 

#3 "If you'd been through what I have, you'd quit asking questions too."

This one hurts. I hesitated to put it here, in Top 10 list, for many reasons, but it is a meaningful statement and it reminded me how much work we have to do. That I need to keep trying to get better. A student had apologized for asking me questions on a project. They were clarifying, extending, and learning, and they had paused several times to ask questions. And they literally apologize for doing that. For learning. For stretching. I told them, "Please stop apologizing for that. You know better. You are supposed to be asking questions. It's how you learn." That was when they revealed that not everyone seemed to feel the same way. That asking questions is too often met with snarky responses or degrading comments. Disapproval. Flat out rejection. It hurts to know that some teachers do so much to tear down the confidence that it takes to ask a question or reveal a need for help.  So many teachers do so much to lift our kids up and help them build that confidence. Our students work to develop that strength, to find their voice. Why would someone consistently work against that? We owe our kids better.

#2 "Wow. this class went so fast."

All right, shift back to a positive one. I love hearing this when the bell rings. I know a lot of teachers do. I wish I could say it happens all the time, that every day flies by for my students and they are engaged and engrossed and lose track of time in our learning. I wish I could, but I know it's not true. I can do so much better, and I have so much work to do. But on those days, in those classes when things are hitting right, when the conversations are bouncing around the room, when the activities touch on something creative or inspiring, when the questions are popping into minds and flying past lips, when the content is meaningful and relevant to the kids in the room, it is a great feeling, and the bell is a disappointment. Let's strive to make those hours, those days, much more common. 

#1 "Love you."

I know for some teachers, this one is uncomfortable. I once read a biography of Vince Lombardi - When Pride Still Mattered, I think - and in it he spoke of a time when he was asked what made the Packers different. His response was simple: love. He later said he wished he had worded it differently because people mocked it. I believe the term he said he wished he had used was "heart-power". The sincere caring for one another as human beings. That was what he meant when he said love was what made their lockerroom special. That is what we need in our profession, and I see it on a daily basis with my fellow teachers and coaches, with the young people that walk through our doors. I have heard football players express it as they leave the coaches' office after practice and when they come to the sideline one last time after the final game. Kids have said it as they leave the classroom at the end of the semester or year, or after grabbing a granola bar from the desk drawer. They will say it after a teacher lays into them for making poor choices or because someone did something seemingly small that helped them feel comfortable being who they are. And I have said it too. Students who would never say it to me say it to the teacher down the hall because that is the connection they have built. It's heart-power. And we need more of it, especially right now. 

So, there you go. There are so many other things my students have said that I could include. They will keep coming to me now that I have hit "Publish" and that is a good thing. Our students say so much that has meaning, sometimes clearly, sometimes veiled, and sometimes without even knowing it. 

We really need to listen. 

Top 10 Student Quotes of the Year, Pt 1

The Top 10 list is the hallmark of the transition from old year to new year. Top 10 Songs of 2021. Top 10 Worse Lyrics, Top 10 Worst Hit Songs, Top 10 Plays, Top 10 Moments, Top 10 Games. Name your area of Twitter, TikTok, or Youtube, and there is a Top 10 for that topic. I understand I may be a bit tardy; the last week of January may be a little late to the game, but, honestly, I didn't feel like it. Until now. So, here it is... 

My Top Ten Quotes from Students from the Last Year (That I Remember Right Now and Feel Comfortable Sharing Here). Quotes presented in no particular order, and were chosen for vastly different reasons.

#10 "I need to hear the rest to understand what you mean, but your words, I can't describe them in any way other than beautiful." 

This happened during my Advanced Creative Writing class. It was the first assignment of the semester, and I had asked that each person share with the class at least one line they were proud of. Our creative writing classes have always included a great deal of sharing, peer feedback, and celebration of writing. I feel that I failed at that last semester in Creative Writing. I had not been able to build the trust in our classroom that we needed, and that still bothers me. So, I was refocusing on finding ways to do that this semester. A smaller class helps. So, the students shared, some their entire poems, some single lines. We offered feedback and asked questions. As one student read her lines from the back of the room, seated on the floor couch that allowed her to be partially shielded from the eyes of the rest of the class by a low table, the words spilled across the room. They truly were beautiful, and the classmate feedback centered on that and how much they made us want to hear the rest. The quote above came from a young writer seated across the room, and it was echoed by several others. I loved how they were given sincere responses. A bit later, something happened that made me smile for so many reasons. After hearing others share, and listening to the people in class respond to other writers' lines, that young writer raised her hand and asked if she could read her entire piece. It didn't disappoint, and she smiled after reading it and hearing the additional words of her fellow students. I thanked her after class for being willing to share the entire poem. She told me she was really nervous, but after listening to everyone else, she thought she could do it. It was something that won't show up on any evaluation or be presented at any teacher workshop, but moments like that mean so much to our class, to our growth, and to our learning. "I can't describe them in any way other than beautiful." 

#9 "Just a minute. Let me look."

Yeah, that quote, out of context, makes no sense and holds no meaning. So let me give some context. I teach a class called "Pop Culture Literature" and in it, we explore various types of literature that might not be seen as traditional or "accepted" in the classic vein. We research and develop a standard of what good literature actually is, and we apply that standard to popular music, TV shows, films, plot-based video games, and other media. I love teaching the class, and at the end of each semester we examine how our learning in class has met the ELA standards. And if I am being honest, we may do more worthwhile and legitimate research in this class than in any other. For me, when a student says, "Just a minute. Let me look," I am happy. When they say that in the middle of discussion we are having in class, it means they are researching a question that had come up. They are searching for context or support for an idea that was thrown into the conversation. They are looking for a writer's motivation, or exploring a more complex literary device. And they are not fighting it; they are hungry to do it. They want to make the connection and find out the why. Usually, the student will have the lyrics up on their Chromebook screen (if they have loaded yet), and they will pull out their phone and research. It's pretty neat. 

#8 "Mr. Kohls, adults are stupid." 

Yeah, that was said out loud and with complete sincerity. And while it may sound harsh, it was not meant to be disrespectful. It was actually said in my classroom as well as conveyed to me by my brother as a message from my nephews. It was about the much-feared, dread-inducing "TikTok Challenge Schedule" that laid out supposed TikTok challenges for each month of the school year. If you are a teacher or a parent of a teen, you know what I am talking about. "Mr. Kohls, that isn't on our TikTok. It might be on teacher TikTok, but it's not us. Do you really think it would be planned out like that? I'm sorry, Mr. Kohls, adults are stupid." I guess I could have been offended. But here's the thing: they were being honest. The same group had told me only a few moments earlier in that conversation about "devious licks" that "Dude, sometimes kids can be stupid." The same group also said that trashing the bathrooms or stealing soap dispensers was ridiculous and disrespectful. "People have to clean that up and fix those things" they said. "And those people are already stressed out." I admit: I get to work with amazing people every day. No, they are not perfect, but they are really good people. 

#7 "It's when you are uncomfortable that you learn because you have to ask yourself why you are uncomfortable."

This comment came up during a conversation in Honors Sophomore English about a poem that touched on some potentially sensitive topics. As I often do, I put the question to my students: Should we be reading this and discussing it? Their answer was a definite "yes!" They are in school to learn, not just things, but how to do things, and the most important thing they need to learn to do is think. 

#6 "A good teacher can make me feel safe enough to be uncomfortable without being anxious."

Woah. This comment was made in the same conversation as #7. It is such a simple statement that is so complex and challenging in its application. It's something to work for. 

*Ok, that is the end of part one. I could go on, but this is getting a bit long for a blog post. And this is what the Youtubers and TikTokers do, and really, we all just want to be that cool. So "Part Two" will be coming soon. 

How Do We Move On and Upward?

Last week in Trauma Literature class, we were doing a small group activity in which we proke down an excerpt titled Trauma Affect by Meera Atkinson and Michael Richardson. I was in one of the groups, and the portion we were examining more closely discussed the "proliferation of trtauma" through technology. The people in my group talked about social media, about how quickly and continuously we access what is happening around the world. They pointed out that we do not even hoave to open our phones to read an article or watch a video because an alert pops up immeidately when news or specualtion of news occurs anywhere in the world. Reports of a shooting in Michigan? An alert drops down from the top of millins of screens before the students in the school have escaped from their classrooms. An earthquake thousands of miles away? A buzz and banner let us know before the aftershocks have subsided. A new strain of COIVD19 adds a new layer to what seems to be an unending stack of anxiety? It's trending on multiple platforms that ping you visually, audibly, and tactilely so you don't miss out. CAN'T miss out. Do we expereince each of these traumas directly? Perhaps not. But when students in a school states away experience a shooting, our students and staff immediately put faces on sillohettes of not only the alleged shooter but also the victims, and those faces are beside them at a table or across the cafeteria. The earthquake doesn't rumble under our feet, but the rubble piles up in the hearts and the heads of young people who wonder what the world they are left with will look like. And the neww strain of this virus? For too many, it means they will add to a list of people they already know who have lived too many days in isolation. It means anothe layer of anxiety about visiting grandparents or, unfortuanetely, attending another funeral. It means that once again, they have to consider not what will happen this year of their HS careers, but what will be taken away from them, what memories and expiences won't be talked about 10 years from now. It was during this conversation that it struck me, something so simple and clear. I was in the midst of a really good day. I had laughed with my students. We had started exploring new learning as we returned from break. We were creating poems about how to leave the past behind, or how to bring pieces of it into the new year. We had meaningful discussions about lyrical dissoance and irony. We had shared snacks, and thhey were delicious. During the week, I had spent times with friends, colleagues, people that make me better, personally and professionally, and had left those conversations lighter and happier. That week, my daughter was starting a new job, one that allowed her to step further into the world she wants to be a creative and lively part of. My son was exploring his next steps on pursuing his passions. My wife was rested from her own break, and she was laughing more as we enjoyed more moments together. In short, life, in the narroer view, is pretty damn good at that moment. It has been a while since I have been able to honestly say that, and say it with my chest. Like so many teachers, and so many others, a weight has set on me, draped itself on my mind, and even when I lifted it up, it seemed as if I was looking at everything through a shadow that it was casting. And that sucked. I know of many others who were feeling the same way. But at that moment, and I told the kids in my group this, I was ok. The world in front of me was good. Ironically, we were discussing trauma and how it invades so much of our lives in so many ways, but it was really true. I think one reason was because in the midst of this discussion, the kids naturally turned to their solutions. They spoke of setting timers on their phones to limit their doom scrolling. They showed me how on the newer software updates, we can turn off those alerts, those banners and buzzes, at particualr times of day, not so we stay ignorant or blissfully unaware, but so we can take a step away and let the world in front of us reappear and refocus. Or so we can sleep. These kids have trauma in their lives. They know it. Tbey told me how they feel conflicted when a friend talks to them about someth8ing they are going through because they truly want to help, so they feel they cannot tell that friend what they themselves are going through for fear of adding it to their friend's load. So, they talk to someone else if they can, but understand that in doing so, they are putting that friend in the same position, and they feel guilty about that too. "That's why we have therapists, Mr. Kohls!" one said. "And you!" another piped up. That made me feel better, and worse at the same time. But the fact is, these kids get it. Yeah, things are tough all over. Some places more than others. Some people more than others. But what can we do to deal? What can we do to make sure we don't stay in that place of hopelessness or internal dispair? How can we make our little place in the world a little brighter, and in turn, maybe, illuminate a little wider circle of the world. If we can do that, those circles will start to overlap, and then we are no longer in the dark alone. One day last week, I sat in a gathering of amazing people. I won't call it a meeting. Meetings are different. Sure, we had a goal and task before us. But, for me anyway, that was secondary, at best. This was a gathering, as one leader phrased it, of dremaers and doers. And at that moment, it was important to remember that for some, dreaming was important. The group ranged from early elementary teachers to HS content teachers to district-levle adminsitrators. And I honestly cannot tell you what we "got done" as far as moving through the assigned tasks. I know someone can tell you because they took notes. In that gatheirng, a friend and colleague put a thought into words: How can we not simply "move on" from the upheaval and trauma of the last few years; how can we "move upward" because that is what has to happen? We are working on how we can do that, and I can tell you that I am in a different headspace than I was in when I came out of break. That time with those people helped me get there. The time with particular people earlier in the week did too. And that is what I need to consciously do. I need to turn off the alerts a little bit each day - literally and metaphorically - and turn to who and what pick me up. Walk down the hall between classes to hear the voices that reset my mindset. Intentionally immerse myaelf in "meaningless" conversations that are actually beyond meaningful in the connections they allow to form. Celebrate the pumpkin cheesecake dip and vanilla wafers a student brings to class. Listen wholeheartedly and without mental distraction to the kid that reads a poem they wrote. The opportunities are legitimately endless. I have to allow then to fall into focus before me. The bigger world will be there later, whenever that may be. We can deal with it then. And by letting those things happen and recognizing them for what they are, we will be able to deal with it. We will be able to dream. We will have the energy grind. We will find those way to let the circle of light expand, just a bit, and begin to overlap. We will be ok.