When they quit

Today I watched a student "take" the state test (required for graduation). I was appalled as he placed the pencils at the top of his desk and did nothing. I believe that he swiped a few pages, but read nothing and wrote nothing.

This evening I sat in on a boxing class, and I was the worst. Literally. The words: "jab, cross, hook, uppercut" flew at me too quickly for me to process and my awkward, left handedness, extra 30 lbs, and the fact that I am the oldest person in the room made me want to quit.

And when I got home, I cried. I cried because I fucking suck and boxing, but I'm not going to quit.

I fought pursuing A STEM career as a woman, I fought social anxiety to become a teacher, I fought my total lack of coordination to take a boxing class.

So what is the difference?

Oh, I have supportive parents who encourage me, a husband to complain to, , a department chair who listens, friends that I can text and take to class with me.

Many of our students don't have the same benefit. It hit me how much we have to be that person for them.

It makes me feel better because when that student left without making a mark on the test I wanted to pull him aside to tell him, "you got this. I know that it is hard and you are bad at it, but you can't quit fighting to do it."

Of course that would have broken testing protocol which indicates that we only read the instructions from the testing manual.

We all just want encouragement.

Submitted June 19, 2017 at 09:45PM by areolaebola http://ift.tt/2tmJttZ