Every Student Needs a Clean Slate w/ Each New Year

One year as a young teacher, I had a family who had been somewhat difficult to deal with the previous year. I mentioned to my principal that I was worried about it. This principal happened to be the best person I have ever worked for in any job. She was elite. Here is part of the reason why. She said, “Rob, don’t assume this family is gonna have a rough year with you. You might be just what they need. You might click with this family.” In other words, give them a clean slate without preconceptions. And I bet you can guess the rest of that story…we had a fantastic year.

I am not claiming to be anything special. I have worked with teachers who are far better than me. But it is our job as teachers to help students/families build on the previous year or allow them a reset.

I have also had students with some pretty checkered behavioral issues prior to arriving in my classroom. While it is very important to know of behavioral issues, it is also important to make sure they have the freedom to start anew. Not every time, but some times they decide to leave that behavior in the past, never to return to it. It is important that students have that opportunity and not see our eyes roll with, “Oh, here we go again.”

Sometimes students can have a rough year for any number of reasons. Maybe they don’t mesh their classmates, their teacher, or a combination of both. Maybe their parents split up. Maybe they lost a loved one. Maybe they had a health issue. Maybe their parent had/has a health issue. Maybe students are growing up and are learning to find their way. Maybe they just needed to hit that developmental milestone(mental or physical), and missed it due to no fault of their own. Maybe there was no rhyme or reason to their tough year. They just need a clean start. Again, let’s make sure to offer that fresh start.

One final story. I don’t talk about students much. I am VERY careful not to reveal identities. Their time with me deserves to remain private. But some stories are just too encouraging not to be told. I had a student one year who said, “I have never been successful at school. I wasn’t proficient in anything last year.” You could tell this student was frustrated with that, tired of being labeled as less than average. If there is any gift I have as a teacher, I really believe most kids can be far better than what they believe they can be. I told this student, “If you will come in here and work every day. You will be proficient in everything.” I believed it, and this student knew I believed it. When scores came back, this student was proficient in two subjects. But here is the really fun part -> They were advanced in two others!

You know I am not a big test score person. But am a huge believer in changing outlooks, raising the horizon, and giving student hope that their tomorrow is going to be better than today. I want them to know that their dreams are attainable if they will work at it, and believe that their hard work will pay off. Sure, there will be ups and downs. But we can do amazing things if we will dream big, and put in the work to get there.

ProTip: I really like the following quote from Stan Beecham in Elite Minds: How Winners Think Differently to Create a Competitive Edge and Maximize Success . It fits nicely with the post above.

First do what is necessary. Then do the possible. And then you will find yourself doing the impossible.

While I don’t put a lot of stock in test scores, I really love the following….taking a student from the lowest levels of below proficiency to advanced in a single, school year. That isn’t possible for every student depending on a variety of factors, but it is easier than many think.