The Lost Student
Imagine a classroom where you feel
you do not belong, a classroom you never wished to be in, quite frankly a
classroom where you feel destined to fail. This is the reality for one young
girl who never did well in English classes, but suddenly found herself placed
in Honors English I her first year of high school. Struggling with the
assignments she put on the façade acting as if she doesn’t do the assignment to
be “cool,” when in reality she is too scared to try fir fear of her friends
finding out she isn’t “smart enough” to be there.
This was not always the case
however. When first coming into the class she had hopes of succeeding, of
impressing her friends and family, and creating a new school identity for
herself. But upon completion of her first essay the dread that filled her eyes
was clear, the amount of red marks on her paper staring back at her, with the
unmistakable F telling her that she had tried, yet still failed. This
demoralized every fiber of her being. From this point on she resided to not
even try at her assignments, to act like she failed, because the assignment
didn’t matter to her, and to act out to get laughs from her peers, when her
secret might be in jeopardy.
The breaking point arrived the day
of class reading. She sat with her heart pounding hoping in vain that no one
would call on her to read. Alas, this was not to be the case as she heard her
name called and felt all the eyes upon her she struggled to find an
escape. With no clear way out she took
the only way she could think of. Knowing the repercussions could be severe she
threw her book to the floor an yelled, “I don’t read and you sure ain’t going
to make me!”
Being quickly escorted out into the
hall her strength and façade quickly faded upon exiting the threshold of the
room. Breaking down and confiding her fear, worries, and lack of belonging to
the instructor, she knew that the instructor may help, but she also knew things
couldn’t possibly be worse. To her wonder the instructor explained options to
her and said she would help to have her placed into a normal classroom. Though
it won’t be instant she now has hope once again for the future.
Jason,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your short narrative! I feel like we all might have students that can relate or if we have honor students, some might not always seem to keep up. I'm glad you showed her side of the story rather than an outsiders. This makes it personal and we can feel her feelings as well as our experience. Good job, I hope it works out for her.
Jason,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your short story. It is most uncomfortable to find yourself in an environment in which you feel you do not belong. Such discomfort may cause a student to act out. I think many educators perceive it as having a problem student and do not seek to find the root of the issue. I am glad that this student was provided this opportunity and can go on to succeed in a more comfortable environment. Thanks for sharing.
Mr. Allen,
ReplyDeleteThank you for this story. Regardless if it is fictional or not, it was great! I personally feel like students do this often in honors classes. I have also seen it the other way where the student is in an honors course, is clearly capable of doing the work, but does not turn in assignments. In my example, however, this student constantly states how easy and boring the material is, he doesn't feel challenged. Whether this is the case, or if the student follows-suit with more of what you are saying, teachers have to be in communication with students about what is going on. The last thing we want for our students is to feel "lost", as you have described so well. I cannot wait to read the sequel to this story, if there is in-fact a sequel! Thanks again, Mr. Allen!
Dear Jason,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your story. I have a student currently that needs helps in an honors class. He is behind in reading, but writes beautifully. I wonder what the teacher said to your student? I like the ending where you say now the student has hope. There is no worse word than hopeless. I am also curious about the future of this student, what's happening now or next?
Sincerely,
Christina Jones
Dear Jason,
ReplyDeleteYour experience with the student in your reflection is heart breaking! As you and I have experienced together sometimes students are just not in the right class. However, I found it inspiring that you were able to make a difficult situation better for your student! By sharing a difficult experience you have made it an authentic reflection and inspired me!
Thanks for sharing a piece of yourself,
Andrew
Dear Mr. Allen,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading from a third person omniscient point of view! The narrator knows the feelings and reasoning behind the students behavior and struggles in the classroom. I also like the resolution of your story as it provides the student with the support that she may need. I can also relate to Ms. Jones dilemma where a students abilities is exceeding their grade level in one area but also struggling in another. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful reflective story.
Thanks,
Mr. Slattery
Dear Jason,
ReplyDeleteThank you for “The Lost Student.” I appreciate your depiction of a 9th grade student who was, perhaps, mistakenly placed in an honors English class and who felt out of place and insecure about her abilities. Thank you for showing us that students act out for a variety of reasons, one of which may be to disguise what they perceive to be their own academic weaknesses. As has been shown time and time again, sometimes the best help we can provide students is to simply listen and try to find out what they need by asking them directly. Thank you for sharing this piece with us.
Katie