I Make Little Girls Cry

[electricpaladin]

Today I had another disconcerting experience at school today.

I gave out progress reports today, and a lot of kids were surprised. Some of them pleasantly ("Mr. Simmons, what do you mean, I got a B? I've never gotten a B in science in my life!" "What did you get last year?" "Oh, I got a D.") and some of them less so. One girl in particular came to me with a brave and angry face on, saying "Mr. Simmons, I'm furious with you!"

"Oh? Why are you furious with me?"

"It's my progress report. I shouldn't get a D!"

So, I took her aside after class and I showed her her grade. I showed her her test scores - which she has seen already. I showed her her marked lack of Exit Slips and Do Now sheets. I showed her her unexceptional behavior grade. By the end of my showing, she was in tears.

I don't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing. On the one hand, it looks like she took responsibility for her grade. She saw what I was showing her and went from angry at my unfairness to sadness at her own lack of performance. She stopped being mad because she saw that she gave her a D, not me. On the other hand, I made an adorable 12 year old cry!

Man, this life is hard.

Anyway, I have her the talk. I told her that I believed in her, that she could still get a C or even a B by the time the actual report cards come out and that she could still earn an A overall by the end of the year. We'll see how it works out.

Comments

[philled2thebrim.livejournal.com]

i am adding you because i feel like it and also because i am impressed at your ability to make little girls cry.