I have been teaching the kids that everyone makes mistakes, even me, their teacher! Yesterday my student Erin said, "Ahhhh, I made a steak!" I guess you kind of had to be there, but it was really funny!
Jin-woo is one of my fourth graders. When I came two months ago, this kid was the lowest and he refused to do any work. He didn't want to do it because he actually couldn't do it. When I would ask him to read, he would need help pronouncing every word. I felt bad for him, but it's hard to give a lot of one-on-one help when I have to keep up with the rest of the class.
A few weeks ago I noticed that he was really doing well at the grammar portion of our class. I started to praise him on the things that he was doing well, hoping to build his confidence in the rest of the class too. Throughout the last few weeks, he has improved SO much. When he used to refuse to read because he was so embarrassed, now he actually volunteers to read and is dissappointed if I don't call on him. He can read now! He still needs help, but he's so excited that he can do it himself.
On Tuesday he came in with the results of his monthly test. He held up the results and waved them in my face. "Teacher Teacher! I am number 3!" He got the third highest score on the monthly test! Granted, there are only 6 students...but I didn't mention that :) He was SO proud that he was not the last. It gave me so much joy to see this kid so excited, when he had been so defeated before. I'm convinced that loving and caring about these kids really can make a difference. I know it's not my teaching that is making the difference... I'm so blessed to have a job where I can see improvement!
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