The Story...

Last Night, I submitted 3rd quarter progress report grades into the online grade book.  Needless to say, I sadly shook my head at the overwhelming number of low grades.  It's utterly defeating as a teacher when so many students are not excelling academically.  

The first step is to look at the WHY.  Why are there so many low grades?  Is it me?  Is it my instruction?  Is it just my class?  Are grades low across the board?  Is it test grades?  Is it homework?  Are the kids genuinely not getting it, or do they not even care about getting it?  

I am continually trying to improve my teaching instruction.  No lesson is perfect, and no method always works.  There will always be students that get it, and students that don't.  It's my job to make my lessons engaging and rigorous while adjusting when needed for students that aren't getting it, or already have it.  I DEFINITELY don't consider myself a perfect teacher, but I would absolutely say that I am a good teacher.  Most of us are.  We are doing everything in our power to help these kids succeed.  We are giving them all the tools necessary to excel both behaviorally and academically.  So, where is the breakdown happening?  Why are these grades so low?

In my opinion, it's not the teachers, it's not the parents, and it's not the administrators, or school board.  I feel like we are directing and placing blame where it doesn't need to be.  We are becoming so obsessed with test scores, and observations, and the politics of teaching that we are forgetting all about the very center of education.  The kids.  

Many of my students are getting low grades in my class right now.  The reason is not because they don't have parental support at home, or because my class and the standards are too hard.  The reason is because they lack intrinsic motivation.  They don't know how to persevere when things get tough or hard.  They lack grit.  What do we do about this?

The number one cause for D's and F's in my class right now is missing homework and classwork assignments.  They just aren't completing the work.  They don't want to complete the work.  

I know some teachers who won't assign homework because the kids won't do it.  That way, their grades won't drop.  I refuse to do that.  What is that teaching my students?  Will they not have homework in high school or college?  I don't think so! I will not stop assigning homework, I will not hesitate to enter a "M" or "0" into the grade book if the work is not completed, and I will take off points if assignments are turned in late.  I will teach my students to be productive members of society.  Holding them to high standards will eventually teach them to be college, career, and life ready.  Instead of lowering the bar because I have so many low grades, I will keep the bar high, and help my kids reach it.

My focus the remainder of this quarter is going to be putting everything I have into trying to teach my students how to become motivated.  How to WANT to complete homework and assignments.  Not because I asked them to, or because their parents asked them to, but because THEY want to SUCCEED, and because THEY want good grades, and because THEY want to be proud of themselves.  Pride in themselves is way more important that the pride they receive from their teachers and parents.  

I might be crazy, I might not be able to turn some of them around, and it will not be easy.  But you know what?  Even if I can reach one student, just one, and help them improve, then it will be worth it.  

It's time to tell them The Story.  Every year, I wait for a time just like this where my students seem to be really struggling.  I take a few minutes in class, and tell them this true story about myself...

Guys, nobody is perfect.  Not even teachers.  When I was your age I decided to trade in my brains for my social life.  I started to become much more interested in my friends than my school work.  My previously straight-A average started to drop.  It wasn't that I wasn't capable of getting excellent grades, but that I wasn't trying.  As I entered high school, it got worse.  My parents were frustrated with me, they grounded me, and took away something else every time I brought home a bad report card.  Some of you know the feeling well.  I would get a sinking, empty feeling in the pit of my stomach when I knew I had to show my parents my grades.  Still though, it didn't sink into my brain what I was doing, and how it was affecting everyone around me.  I officially hit rock bottom my sophomore year of high school.  My lack of grit had caused me to literally fail Ecology for the semester.  This meant I was short a credit to move on to my Junior year.  Up until that point, I hadn't had a real consequence for my actions.  Teachers and my parents would tell me what was going to happen, but it wasn't happening at that moment, so in my head, I felt my bad grades weren't a big deal.  Now, I was starting my junior year in a sophomore homeroom which was HORRIBLY embarrassing.  I had to attend night school to make up the credit five days a week until 8pm with kids who did drugs, and skipped school.  I didn't belong there! How had I gotten myself to this point?  It took the humiliating and humbling experience of failing a class, and the true and utter disappointment I saw in my parents for me to realize what I had done.  To be honest, it wasn't my parents, my teachers, or my peers that finally made me turn around.  I just woke up one day and realized that I WANTED to be somebody someday, and that I WANTED to succeed.  For myself.  I was sick of hearing that I was headed to a future at McDonalds, and that I would never get into my dream school, The University of Florida.  I was so angry at myself, and I wanted to prove everyone wrong.  So, I did.  I never received below a B from that point forward.  I was always capable, I was just lacking grit, lacking tenacity.  I was able to recover my GPA enough that I got into USF, but that wasn't my goal.  I wanted to be a GATOR.  Unfortunately, my grades weren't high enough to get in, so I decided to attend St. Petersburg College for my first two years.  I literally worked my little determined butt off, and I graduated with an Associate's Degree with at 3.9 GPA.  I applied to UF as a transfer student, and I was accepted.  I will never forget the day I received my acceptance letter, and how amazing it felt knowing that I DESERVED it.  I made mistakes, but I realized how those mistakes were affecting my life, and I made the choice to change.  I proved everyone wrong who told me I wouldn't accomplish my goals.  Most importantly, I proved myself wrong when I started to believe those people.  The day I graduated from The University of Florida with a Bachelor's Degree in English was one of the most profound and important days of my life.  So you see, I've been there.  I know what it's like to struggle, but I also know what it's like to start from the bottom and work your way back up.  I can be the best teacher in the world, and give you all the tools you need to succeed, but in the end, it doesn't matter.  You have to WANT to get good grades, and set up a bright future for yourself.  So, I challenge you.  Turn it around now.  Bring those grades up before it's truly too late.  Set your goals, and accomplish them.  I know you can do it, but do you know you can do it?  

Every year that I tell this story to my students, I'm not sure if it makes a difference.  Some of my students take it to heart, and start to bring their grades up.  Some do not.  It might seem strange that I am willing to tell my students something so personal about myself, but I'm not ashamed.  I feel like I can take my mistakes I've made in the past, and use them as learning experiences for my students.  I would never take back my choices from the past, because I feel like they've made me a stronger person.  

As a society, we really need to start looking at the WHY.  Why are our kids not meeting standards, why are they not getting good grades, why are their test scores low?  The answer does not lie in how we can be better teachers, or better parents, but the answer lies in how can we help our kids be better people.  How can we motivate them to want to persevere?  How can we get them to WANT to do homework or to get a good grade on a test?   

We need to teach GRIT.  We need to teach TENACITY.  I'm pretty sure there isn't a test our kids can take to help them master these qualities.   Are these qualities even measurable?

Maybe my story will make a difference, maybe it won't.  But at least I can try.