I have had students that didn't have much to give, but gave me all they had. I can work with that. What troubles me nowadays is the students who have plenty to give and choose not to give it. It's not about the types of activities, types of literature, etc.. It's a simple case of apathy.
"Aren't you going to turn in your work?" I ask hopefully.
"Nah, I'll just take the F," students respond.
I feel like a failure, because I am invested in my students. I want them to succeed. I ask them to keep notebooks to increase their organizational skills, thereby edging them toward success in the future. (Yes, I have explained this.) Many of them see no future for themselves, many of them don't care, others, I just don't know.
I pray everyday for success in the classroom and success for these students.
When I am at my lowest, I remember what my mother, also an English teacher, used to tell me. "If you reach just one student," she would say with a grin, "You are doing a good job." She would go on to remind me that oftentimes teachers never know what effect they have on young people. (Oh, the stories she would tell after reunions)
So, I take a deep breath and sigh. I pray a little harder and plow ahead. As long as I am doing the best that I can, that's all I can do.
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