Deeper Magic and More About Students
Did you know that "xmas" should not be considered offensive by Christians? A lot of people, myself included, thought that "xmas" is an attempt to remove "Christ" from the equation. Makes sense, right? I suppose this is the intention of some people who use the term. However, if you are educated about the word usage, and use it intelligently, there should be nothing offensive about it. Because for hundreds of years "x" has simply served as a shorthand version of "Christ." This goes back to the Greek, I'm told. Something about the Greek letter that begins the word Christ being close to the x in English, or some such thing. Anyway, hundreds of years ago Christians themselves used the "x" as shorthand for Christ. Obviously they were not intending to be godless.
I found this to be amusing, because I know that some people do use "x" in an effort to secularize the holiday. It struck me today that it's like the deep and deeper magic of Narnia. The White Witch thought she was triumphing by killing Aslan, and removing him from the picture. But her efforts were futile. In a similar way it seems that those who have replaced "Christ" with "x" in an effort to remove religion from the equation have botched the job. Their best efforts have failed.
In other news, you know you are teaching in a public school when your conversation goes something like the following. I should preface this by saying this is one of the students I caught earlier in the year, who I don't believe has really had a change of heart in their behavior (allowing work to be copied, etc.) but is probably more careful now. Having said that, we have very good rapport in class. She's really a delightful person (on the surface), and I have fun teasing her. She's also fairly honest with me on some things, as the following will illustrate:
Her: Working at the food bank (or some such charity) is kind of fun. I think I want to volunteer there.
Me: Why are you working there in the first place?
Her: I'm doing community service.
Me: Oh yeah? Why is that?
Her: I got caught at a party last summer. But I wasn't even drinking.
Me: Ah, so has your punishment changed your behavior so you aren't going to parties anymore, or are you just being more careful?
Her: Just being more careful.
I guess behavior modification is not a very successful technique with her. If community service doesn't change one behavior, it's no wonder a lower grade hasn't changed her behavior with regards to sharing work in my class.
Second student story. I think this is the first year I've dealt with a student who is an excellent student, but is also a nervous wreck anytime she gets anything below a 90. She has burst into tears on multiple occasions now after approaching me about some project or assignment that has gone hard. How do you handle crying girls? This is a mystery I have not yet been able to figure out. I assure her that her grade is still very strong, (she has one of the strongest A grades in the class!), but it doesn't seem to help her mental state that much. Poor girl. It's like she's a total failure if she doesn't ace everything.
On that cheery note, merry Xmas everyone!
I found this to be amusing, because I know that some people do use "x" in an effort to secularize the holiday. It struck me today that it's like the deep and deeper magic of Narnia. The White Witch thought she was triumphing by killing Aslan, and removing him from the picture. But her efforts were futile. In a similar way it seems that those who have replaced "Christ" with "x" in an effort to remove religion from the equation have botched the job. Their best efforts have failed.
In other news, you know you are teaching in a public school when your conversation goes something like the following. I should preface this by saying this is one of the students I caught earlier in the year, who I don't believe has really had a change of heart in their behavior (allowing work to be copied, etc.) but is probably more careful now. Having said that, we have very good rapport in class. She's really a delightful person (on the surface), and I have fun teasing her. She's also fairly honest with me on some things, as the following will illustrate:
Her: Working at the food bank (or some such charity) is kind of fun. I think I want to volunteer there.
Me: Why are you working there in the first place?
Her: I'm doing community service.
Me: Oh yeah? Why is that?
Her: I got caught at a party last summer. But I wasn't even drinking.
Me: Ah, so has your punishment changed your behavior so you aren't going to parties anymore, or are you just being more careful?
Her: Just being more careful.
I guess behavior modification is not a very successful technique with her. If community service doesn't change one behavior, it's no wonder a lower grade hasn't changed her behavior with regards to sharing work in my class.
Second student story. I think this is the first year I've dealt with a student who is an excellent student, but is also a nervous wreck anytime she gets anything below a 90. She has burst into tears on multiple occasions now after approaching me about some project or assignment that has gone hard. How do you handle crying girls? This is a mystery I have not yet been able to figure out. I assure her that her grade is still very strong, (she has one of the strongest A grades in the class!), but it doesn't seem to help her mental state that much. Poor girl. It's like she's a total failure if she doesn't ace everything.
On that cheery note, merry Xmas everyone!
posted by redsoxwinthisyear at 9:40 PM
11 Comments:
Thanks for passing on the insights about Xmas. I am encouraged!
Maybe you should encourage the crying girl that she's really doing extremely well and you appreciate her efforts to excel. Enough praise might even spur on some other students to make extra effort.
Could she be getting extra pressure from home that's making her freak out over grades?
kristi, good advice, but already done. My attempts to soothe her worries and praise her efforts have so far not kept the tears from happening. She is a twin, which may put pressure on her, but from what I have heard she's ahead of her sister academically, so she shouldn't be feeling like she's under her shadow or anything.
As far as home stuff, it could be that, though based on conversation with her mom I don't think so.
I can relate to that girl! Not the crying and everything, but the terrible misery of failing yourself when you KNOW you're capable of doing better, even when you got a 98! Perfectionism is a tricky thing and needs to be squashed...MUST be squashed.
And speaking personally, it's an inner issue. Mine had nothing to do with home pressures or lack of praise. It was me that got angry at me for not being perfect. For such people they are their own worst enemy.
oh, and that about xmas was good, too. I'd heard that about the X standing for Christos in Greek, but never thought about the deeper magic aspect, which is excellent.
Good insight about Xmas. I admire you for your courage in teaching public high school, with all of its difficulties. Keep up the good job.
I relate to that girl... in grades & in tears. And even if you're saying all the right things, sometimes people like us just have to cry :)
PS - Merry day-after Christmas!
And merry post xmas from me as well.
Okay- the Crying Girl Syndrome. Can't really help you much there. I've only been on the one side. Actually, I don't know that I've ever cried to a teacher. But here's a suggestion...Maybe you should ask her ahead of time how you should respond when she cries next time. I know in my case, if people are nice to me, I cry more. If people are cold and detached and aloof, I get over it faster. Maybe you just need to be MEANER. Or maybe you need to be silly and make her laugh.
Maybe you should tell her that with her over-achieverness, she's sure to get a good college recommendation from you etc...
Good luck with that. :)
Claire--Is that what you tell Brad, to be MEAN to you when you cry so you'll get over it sooner? That might limit the crying, but somehow I can't see it helping the relationship!
The funny thing about this crying business is that I haven't detected any awkwardness on the part of the girl that she has broken down multiple times in front of me. I mean, if it was me and I cried in front of my teacher, I'd feel a little awkward, at least after the fact. So if I thought she wanted to be helped not to cry, then maybe I could ask her how she wants me to deal with her meltdowns. But I think they must be a regular event with her and other teachers as well. I wonder if it's a mechanism she has come to use to manipulate people.
Or maybe it's just that she still has the emotional maturity level of a seventh grader.
Or maybe she's like Linds, and just needs to cry on occasion.
You could be like Marvin Olasky who, when he made his wife cry when trying to teach her to write better, asked, "You want to cry, or you want to write?" Chad-version: "You want to cry, or you want to do history?" (Mrs. O. chose to write, and she does a pretty good job of it.)
And on the "xmas" tack, I heard the following good response (if you're Mr. Hardy-bold) to when people greet you with "Happy Holidays." You reply, "'Holidays' means 'holy days,' and there's nothing more holy than our Savior's birth." It does give the "deeper magic" twist to Happy Holidays!
Post a Comment
<< Home