The workshop on Common
Core last Friday was really dragging, and just like my students I began looking
around the room for some kind of diversion.
There on the wall I found my diversion in a poster.
There are no failures
Just experiences and your reactions to them.
-Tom Kraus-
Interesting.
It made me think of a comment I’d once heard a principal
make.
“99% of the kids sent to my office for discipline
problems were not sent there for what they had done. They were sent to me because of how they
reacted when the teacher pointed their behavior out.”
Just our reactions to
our experiences.
In my classroom I have a different poster.
What we call failure is not the falling down
But the staying down
-Mary Pickford-
I don’t know whether I’d be so bold as to say, “There are
no failures,” because 29% on a test is definitely
a failing grade.
This morning as I walked down the hall to my room at 7
a.m., I saw Jeffery sitting on the floor outside Mr. Ableman’s room.
“Hey Jeffery,” I called out, “Are you OK?”
“Yeah I’m just waiting for Mr. Ableman.”
“Was he expecting you this early?”
“Yeah. He’s
letting me take my test over.”
“Well that’s good.
How’d that happen?”
“I told him about my lost book, and asked him if I could
take the test over to get enough points to pass.”
“And he said yes?”
“I told him I’d read the chapters this weekend and I
would come in whenever he wanted me to.”
“And he said Monday morning?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you find your missing book?”
“I went to the library and asked if I could pay for the
book I lost. They said someone had
turned in my book three weeks ago.”
“Well that was
good. So now you know where to go if you
ever lose one of your books.”
Jeffery suddenly stood up as Mr. Ableman came down the
hall. I opened my door.
“Good luck Jeffery,” I said walking into my room.
Way to go!
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