Yesterday in one of my classes, I spent a few minutes talking about the results of the test I described in this post. The two kids who stayed after school for three hours both scored in the 90s on the test. (One of them got the high score—99%.) I mentioned this to the class (without naming the kids specifically—it’s up to them whether they “out” themselves), emphasizing that the difference between totally lost and solid enough to get an “A” on the test was a mere 2-3 hours. That turned out to be the key piece of information/incentive that some of the kids who have been struggling needed—three or four of the ones I had more or less written off suddenly wanted to know when they could come by after school next week to learn the material and take a re-test.
Then, after school, one of my students stayed after to make up a lab that she missed when she was absent. At one point, this student mentioned that she heard some of my other students saying some complimentary things about me in the cafeteria. This caught me by surprise—I hear a lot of griping from my students, but this was the first hint I’ve had from Belmont kids of anything positive.
