Today closes out the first week of Summer School. I have two classes with 4 kids in each of them. I guess it’s a good thing that the numbers are so low-presumably students aren’t failing junior and senior English. As I type this, these students are diligently typing up their assigned essay. Throughout this week, I have asked them to read and take notes about the writing process as well as informational and literary articles. I have also tasked them with various writings and responses. In each class these 4 students have worked for two straight hours without a complaint and have produced high quality work. In other words, they are doing everything you’d expect the stereotypical “good” student to do. These are kids who are here because they didn’t pass English; they didn’t do work or they did it very poorly, and yet here they are producing pretty solid work without issue. So what went wrong?
I’ve been teaching summer school for the past three years, and every year their first assignment is to answer in 4-5 paragraphs: Why are you here? Their answers are honest and sometimes heartbreaking. They accept fault and admit to work that they never completed-essays and assignments never turned in. One student had to cope with receiving a diagnosis of a pretty debilitating disorder; while another had to deal with an abusive boyfriend. But hidden in all these answers is a lack of a strong relationship with their teachers.
I know the teachers who taught the class these kids failed, and I know all of them to be solid and compassionate educators. Had these students felt comfortable speaking with these teachers about their issues, I am confident that adjustments would have been made. As adults, it’s easy to look at these kids and think it’s absurd that they didn’t tell their teacher their problems, but as a teenager these problems are difficult to disclose to your teacher unless you have a strong relationship with them. I’ve spoken before about the power of relationships and the need for teachers to build and work on relationships with their students, but these summer school students act as further evidence for this. These students are here making up English for many reasons and there is plenty of blame to throw around, but there is no doubt in my mind, that had they had better relationships with their teachers, they would not need to make up the course.
Adam's Ed Musings 