The other day we had an awards ceremony for the students. Several of them were recognized for academic excellence, which here means no incident reports for thirty days and a concerted effort to take charge of their own education, showing constant improvement. The kids didn’t know about it. They just lined up, surely expecting another inspection.
The principal explained the award and called the names. The kids came to the front and stood at attention while we teachers pinned the awards on their uniforms and shook their hands. The thing that amazed me was the look of sheer pride on the faces of the kids who earned the award. I’ve seen many kids practically melt with shame at getting recognized for academics in regular public schools. But not these kids, some of whom had never had anyone – ever – think of them as being good students or even smart. These are the kids who got pigeon-holed and began to believe that they really were bad students, that school wasn’t for them. The sad thing is most of them really want to learn.
I had three kids who earned the award and they came back to class just glowing, filled with a kind of pride that most of them had never felt. It didn’t matter that they were locked up, that they couldn’t go see their families or get high, or run with their buddies because they couldn’t believe that their teachers thought they were good at school.
I know all my kids made some very bad choices and did some incredibly stupid things to wind up where they are, but I hope that this awareness that there is a place for them and that they can succeed where they thought they couldn’t will stick with them. I hope that those who return to regular public schools won’t forget the pride they felt when they realized that they could be good students, and that that was cool.
James Brush is a teacher and writer who lives in Austin, TX. He tries to get outside as much as possible.
Very cool.
This is awesome! I really believe that one of the most powerful motivators is to get a taste of success that has been genuinely earned (not been handed). Its just good for us to apply ourselves and be recognized for our efforts. I’ll be curious to hear an update on how these students are doing in a couple of weeks.
Chris, you’re right about earned success. I think it’s easy to forget that when we want our lives to be easy all the time.