Thursday, May 08, 2008

ONE YEAR WITH AN ENGLISH TEACHER

Day 145, Friday, May 8, 2008

Today Jay was the maitre d’ for his class, and it was wonderful to see him leading the discussion – calling on his classmates, making transitions, and generally keeping things running smoothly. He’s a quiet boy who keeps to himself, so it was gratifying to see him handling the leadership duties so efficiently. It was a good experience for him, and I think his classmates enjoyed seeing him succeed.

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Jimmy was a star in class today. We read and discussed a poem a teacher had written about her mother’s death (she gave me permission to use it in class), and Jimmy explored the poem in greater depth than anyone. He was bent over the table with his pencil, carefully re-reading and underlining lines, and his comments were lengthy and insightful. Once again I was amazed as I thought back to the rather blasé and distractible Jimmy of last year.

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