*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.
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