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100 Day Project – Day 22 – Honesty

September 30th, 2011 · No Comments · 100 Days Project, family, Important People, Teaching & Learning, Work

100 Day Project – Day 22 – 9:40 a.m. (a day late)

When teaching is challenging, ask yourself what Mr. Rogers would do. (Those of my readers who know me, know that Mr. Rogers is my all time favorite person in the world – not counting family, of course.)

I’ve had a great week teaching, yet there are a couple of students who challenge me.  One is very shy, painfully shy, and perhaps has other issues or names for it.  So hesitant that when she approaches me after or before class, if I get too close — and too close appears to be within 2 feet – she backs up.  Add to this her incredibly soft voice, and it’s challenging.  I lean forward carefully whenever she speaks – she does sometimes speak in class – I try to role model body language knowing that other students are watching me interact with her.  But it’s difficult.  The most difficult is that her writing skills are quite minimal.  And, she asked me after class yesterday whether her low grades so far on her writing would affect her overall grade; and I had to be honest.  Like Mr. Rogers, he was always honest – sometimes honesty is comfortable and sometimes honesty is really uncomfortable.  It was clearly uncomfortable for her to hear my answer.  I encouraged her to use the Peer Tutoring service. I have great faith in this service at our college – I’ve seen other students really soar in their writing with one on one tutoring weekly.  But it clearly was not something she wanted to hear.

These moments pain me with students; but unlike a colleague or two I’ve known in my teaching career, I believe it does the student a disservice not to be honest with them.

To ask oneself what Mr Rogers would do, and then to do it. This is also, incidentally, a rather good way to live one’s life.

Today I am thinking about honesty.

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