Although not a part of the Power of 17 I feel compelled to share a story from yesterday.
After two consecutive days of receiving a completely "nasty" attitude from one of my female students I felt the need to ask why. I had enough of "you're not my mommy or daddy...don't tell me what to do...don't ever talk to me again." Here's how the conversation went.
Me: Hey _________, what's going on? Be honest with me. I don't think I've done anything to you to deserve the kind of treatment your giving me. So what's going on?
Student: You really want to know?
Me: Yeah, come on...we have a relationship, tell me what's up.
Student: I'm sick of you pushing me.
Me: What?
Student: I'm sick of you expecting so much from me and challenging me so much. You push me too hard.
Me: (a blank stare with the thought "are your f'n serious?")
Never in my long, illustrious career (just kidding, this is my 5th year) have I heard a student say something like that. "Don't push me so hard!" What am I supposed to do? When I have a student who I really care about who isn't achieving or isn't working to their potential it is my natural response to say "hey, let's get it going...let's make it happen...come on, you can do this...I believe in you." I've always looked at my job as wearing multiple hats. One of which is that of a cheerleader. I'm not just here to teach or facilitate learning, I'm also here to motivate and encourage. Maybe when I'm working with this particular student I'll have to take that specific hat off and be sure just to teach. God forbid I encourage her to achieve great heights and pressure her to be successful.
The more I think about it the more I realize that I assume too much. Not every kid is motivated in the same ways, and this particular student gave me a great wake up call to this understanding.
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