Easy A

Today was a rough day on the job. My 11th graders have not been on task lately and haven’t been responding to my attempts at reprimanding them. I talked to their teacher whom I really respect and she suggested I, “stop being so nice.” I trust her input and it made me upset to think that my love of conversing with my students may actually be hindering them academically. I was deep in thought about how to command more respect when “J” came up to me and softly asked me to talk. He proceeded to describe what I now know to be inane high school drama, but when I was his age, seemed so stressful and REAL. To make a long story short, his insecurities and subsequent jealousy have caused so many problems in his relationship, that his gf’s friends are involved. I LOVED talking him through it and coaching him to step back from the madness and maintain his 4.0 (!!!) gpa, but I couldn’t help but wonder: If I was a lot more strict, would he have felt comfortable enough to come to me for advice? (Eww I just sounded like Carrie Bradshaw) How can I foster trust and camaraderie with my students while still pushing them academically? I think I touched on the educator’s eternal dilemma. As always, I want to do it all.