Assumptions

I think most, if not all of us have made assumptions or judgments about students. I had one student who joined my class last year. He came from a really rough side of Jacksonville, Florida. looking at his discipline record, many of us teachers wrote him off as another kid who would spend his days in In School Suspension..me included.

One day he got caught in a huge lie skipping from my class...it was the last straw for this kid and he was going to get kicked out. I sat with him and his mom...she was yelling at him and he just sat there..and there was just something that hit me...he was hurting inside and his mom was the first person who showed any care(he was living with his father for the past few years).

At any rate, I just connected at that moment and gave him a chance...we worked together and suddenly he just "got it!" I was amazed at his grasp of concepts...

And one year later, I truly enjoy having him in my class