Students as Messengers

At Revere High School we have an Advisory group of students. They are assigned to us as Freshmen, alphabetically, based on their last name. I inherited my group of Advisees last year in November when I stepped into my new role as Chemistry Teacher. I didn't have the opportunity to connect with them as we went through last year due to a number of factors. My goal this year, as I had my own classroom and we would be the only class meeting in my room, was to get to know the kids a bit more personally and get more connected as a group.

We are starting to connect a bit more as I get to know them and they are getting to know me. It isn't unusual if my Chem students stop in if their Advisories are nearby. This was the case a few weeks ago. One of my Honors Chem students stopped in during Advisory to check in with me. As she came in I was talking with one of my Advisory students about the test she was going to be taking later that day. She was anxious and told me she thought she might fail.

I sat for a moment and asked her if that would be the end of her time in the class. In other words, would she be kicked out if she failed? Her response, a very shocked, "No, Miss!" I smiled and said, okay, then what would be the worst thing that could happen if she failed? She thought about it and said that she might be able to go back and study more on the stuff she got wrong. At this point my student walks in and hears this last part of the conversation. She plops down next to the student (whom she knows) and says, "Oh yeah! Failing is just the start! You probably won't fail, but now you will know what to go back and learn! Also, you need to do your mindset work before the test. It will get your mind on the right track."

I sit back and let her do the talking.

You see, Miss has us list out 3 things we KNOW we are good at and what the possibilities are for the class or the work. It totally changes how my brain feels before taking the test. And we shut our eyes and take deep breaths and think about 5 things we are touching to get ourselves grounded. YOU HAVE TO TRY IT!!

The moment my students become the messengers, I KNOW I'm doing something that is impacting their lives for the better.