The Perks of Being a Wallflower

One of the great perks of being "friends" with my students on social media is that every once and awhile, I get to see their thoughts and opinions on education, the world, and life. It has been one of the most enlightening decisions in my teaching career, and I really believe it has made me a better teacher.

I came across these posts in a Facebook thread about education last night. These kids want a chance to make their voices heard, and they so clearly are passionate about learning and their education. And that's what is so powerful about these posts - too many adults assume that kids have checked out, and don't want to learn. Clearly, they do. They are excited to learn.

These messages are too powerful to be ignored. I know I am already thinking of what I can do to make things better...

everything everyone said is so true. I cant even....no. Society today is anything but caring. They want us to be these perfect examples of success and victory when i don't even no if that's what most of us want. Yeah, there is many people out there who are going to discover a cure for cancer, an affordable and efficient substitute for fossil fuel, a way to end poverty, time travel but for the rest of us all we want is to have comfortable and purposeful lives. I would rather live in middle class doing something that i love and have a passion for then be wealthy doing something i cant stand and hate. lately success and perfection had been blurred into the same meaning and it shouldn't be like that. What ever happened to living life doing the things that you loved, taking risks, failing a few times, but learning every step of the way. And that's another thing failure is looked at as a sin rather than a stepping stone. No one is going to be brilliant and noteworthy the first time they try something. Life is about failing just as much as it is about success. I cant remember the last time anyone told us that failing something was one step toward doing it right, mostly because they don't want us to think that way.There's this mold that our world tries to squeeze us into, trying to make us super humans and force us to be number one. Most students bury themselves in honors and AP classes but with no prevail. We end up having so much of a work load that we drown and do poorly on everything. And the only response we get; please try harder next time.some subjects and classes many student don't understand but have to take it anyways, trying to get their credits filled. I don't know who made this comment but it holds true; "If you don't expect teachers to be able to learn, understand and be able to explain six subject to the best of their ability then how on earth do you expect children to do the same?" every teacher from every class want you to put your whole dedication toward their subject but there is only so many hours in the day and way to work your free time. If I had three or four classes rather then twice that it would be far more easier to get ahead and fully understand and know what I am doing, truly this is why i believe america is so low on the education charts. We spend less time on depth then we do breadth. School forces us to know this, this, this, this, and this instead of just focusing on the important things and spending our time really getting into it. That just adds to one of the many reasons why Americas school system has tumbled so low. There is no time spent on looking at each student individually anymore, and trying to assist and help them with any problems they have. Instead we are expected to go on our own time and get tutored on something we should have spent time on. Being honest there are countless teachers, I wont say who because i am not here is disgrace people, who don't do their job of being of being a teacher. numerous times us students are told to figure out things on our own and learn it by our selves. I understand that you want us to be independent but there is a deference between being independent and being abandoned. I dont think adults realize how much this sort of stress affects us physically and emotionally. I know for a fact that i no longer have healthy sleeping, eating and social habits, because i am too busy trying to adjust my living style to that of school. I realize some stress is good but in this case more doesn't mean better. The affects emotionally are even worse. It more than hurts basically being told every day that no matter what you do you aren't good enough, no matter how hard you try there is going to be someone better then you, that we want, expect, and need 100% of your effort 100% of the time.Its imprinted in my head that an A is good but anything lower than that is unacceptable. When did getting a B or a C become this downgrading thing. Yes, many teachers say that if you get a B its perfectly fine but really we've been told so many times that we know its not. We think of ourselves as flawed and stupid if we don't get that perfect 4.0 on a report card. Students cant run like clockwork more and more people are breaking down everyday, some deciding to end the stress once and for all, ending their life in the process. now im not saying kids should slack and blow off school, thinking that B and C and D are fine but this is what i am saying: If you put in the time and effort to a subject but still cant above a C I will not lose respect for you, i will not get mad at you, and i will definitely not think of you as lower. If anything i will appreciate that you took the time to try even in the face of failure. I dont look for perfection in people but rather the ability to try. I cant speak for everyone but I hope i am not the only one who feels this way. we all try our best at school but sometimes it just not enough. So dont feel discouraged when you fail a test, miss a homework assignment or cant grasp a topic. Learn from your mistakes and accept the fact that no one is perfect and cant go through life without failing. The quote i live by is from J.K. Rowling 
"It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all- in which case, you fail by default" 
so everyone live a little more and worry a little less. Don't be afraid to take stupid and risky leaps in life. Don't break yourself trying to fit someone else's standards. You only have one life, please don't waste it.

_________

But no, that is ridiculous. School has become the opposite of what school is. It's supposed to teach and help you be who you want to be. Somehow it's gotten warped over the years into "show us how good you are at following our explicit directions and doing homework" land.
Cause man I learn so much in history and I could be learning at a much faster level but apparently I can't because my handwriting is sloppy? I could be learning science at the honors level but I can't because my ability to copy a formatted lab report into a notebook is below average? Bullshit. Yeah I'm a pretty crappy student. But do you know what doesn't help me want to get my work done? Being told that my completion makes me the same as everyone else in my grade. School should be about filling your head with the knowledge it can hold, not about doing what is required. So many kids are so stressed because they have this gap that can be filled with knowledge, because the human brain thirsts for it. But because of counselling departments and school policies, we spend the time trying to do what is so hard for us, for some reason or another, but can't simply because we forgot that that one thing was due today, and therefore are a failure and an idiot. The stress caused simply by feeling like your grade dictates your life is terrible. A point can ruin everything. But why? What is adolescent life for but to learn. Our brains are in a stage of learning at this age and instead they are focused on doing what they're told. We aren't the smartest bunch in the world. But we sure as he'll don't deserve to be treated as a secondary person.

________

Like you said, what ticks me off the most is that these sort of discussions goes unnoticed or ignored by any teacher or staff member. Instead they try to put the blame on us and say what we are doing is just making excuses. This entire discussion has been nothing but a group of people having a quality and rather professional plea for help but there isn't anyone here to save us. I really wish there was a place for our voices to be heard, without being judged or accused.

________

I talked to my grandpa about school awhile ago, and I told him that I am tired and not getting enough sleep because of my homework. He told me he read an article in the paper that a father of a 15 year old girl decided to do her homework for a week, and he reported to the paper that it was so time consuming and stressful that he was going to bed at 2 in the morning every night. Not only are we teenagers that need 8 hours of sleep every night to grow properly, but we are also full of teenage angst and hormones and its become a thing, at least for me and some of my friends, that I dont have time to deal with that kind of stuff and I end up having melt downs because I cannot hold my emotions back anymore, and they overcome my ability to work and get things done. On top of that, I am expected to be in extra curricular activities, have friends, and have time to sleep/relax. But there is not time for all of this, so I take away things like socializing and sleep. I was told that I should embrace my high school years because it's something I won't ever repeat, and by all means I am! But i'm trying so hard to enjoy something that makes me emotionally unstable.

_________

I feel like I need to begin this with a disclaimer: I'm not trying to be rude or insensitive or braggy in any way. But, I have always maintained what are considered "good" grades. But, I mean, at what cost? I don't have the problem of sleep like many others do as I actually do manage 8 hours every night. But I don't think just sleep cuts it like there's so much mental and psychological stress to maintaining good grades in rigorous classes and keeping up with extracurriculars and participating in the community and spending time with friends and family. All these things are supposed to like set me up for college and the future and whatever but I'm not sure I'll appreciate the benefits if all I remember from high school is the pressure to maintain this standing.

Genius Week!

The last week of each quarter I set aside for some collaborative learning time. We call it Genius Week.

Each Genius Hour student/group presents their project to the class. They present where they are in their project - what they have learned, how their project is taking shape, and then they choose 3 questions to ask the class for feedback. I do tell the students that they cannot choose questions that can be answered in a sentence or less... this is their time to solidify and extend their ideas, and meaningful collaboration is important.

I always say that I am blown away by my students. Each time I am! This time, I was speechless.

There were students who got up, and in front of all their peers, said - I am writing a book. Here are my characters. Here is the basic plot. Here is a scene that I wrote. Now, I have some options as to where to go. Which one would you rather read?

Putting yourself and your creativity out there like that take guts. I was beaming. Brimming with excitement - what amazing minds these students have!

And then this happened: Hi, I have this idea for a topic. It's (idea). But, I dont really know what to do with it, and I need help. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Now, before one of my students gets angry that I am gossiping about them - I'm not. Because I wasn't angry in the least that this happened. In fact, it happened more than once. It happened a LOT.

I was impressed, and inspired.

Here are kids, not just putting a creative idea "out there," but making themselves vulnerable. Truly open to criticism and critique, willing to fall flat on their face and NOT have the right answer - not even have AN answer - wanting to collaborate because they were excited about a topic. Passionate, even.

Wow.