I don't know where to begin with Katie. Katie is a girl who will put you in your place. She is a no nonsense type of girl. She knows if you are pulling a fast one on her. She has all the talent in the world but from what I have noticed she throws it all away. She does not care about her school work. She procrastinates so much that much of her homework is done in first and second hour so it is done by the beginning of her upcoming classes. She is a brilliant thinker but I'm afraid she is going to waste it. School is not her favorite thing in the world. She basically does enough to get by. Her grades might not be highly effected by this but if she continues her trend I can easily see her go into a downward spiral.
However, my favorite thing about Katie is I always know where I stand with her. If I do a horrible lesson she will tell me. If I do a great lesson in my eyes she is the one who will tell me how to improve. It is Katie who keeps me in check and I highly appreciate that.
Agreed. After my first PTR, Katie informed me, "Mr. Carman, I'm sorry, but that was really boring." While this comment was certainly rude, I wasn't really offended by it, and it actually helped me to improve my teaching much more than most of the "ticket out the door" sheets that said "oh yeah, the lesson was pretty good" did. After a little reflection, I thought, yes, it was a little boring, we did the same activity (a primary doc analysis) for 50 minutes.
ReplyDeleteI would point out also though that Katie's work is by no mean's entirely careless. I've seen two book reports of hers and they were both done with great care. Additionally, she's expressed this view multiple times to me that she works hard on things she feels motivated to do, while does not feel compelled to on things she deems "lame." On one hand, I applaud her internal motivation. On the other, throughout her academic career (and it will be a long one, she's told me she plans to become a lawyer), there will be many times she's faced with tasks she seems unimportant, and if she refuses to put forth work on them, she won't get very far. Also, paying strict attention to making detailed and physically catching book reports is perhaps not the most important academic pursuit of the class anyway! Internal motivation only really works for academic success if the student is motivated by mental challenges.
To highlight Katie's behavioral problems in class, however, observed and took part in a brief altercation between Katie and Michael. In this case, Michael provoked Katie, calling her a "bitch" in front of me. I remonstrated him and told him that this wasn't appropriate behavior. Shortly after, Katie responded by calling him a "dumbass." This I didn't hear, but Michael informed me of the injustice of his being called out. While I told him I sympathized, I also hadn't heard her comment, so didn't feel like I could do much, as the moment had already passed. This encounter illustrates both their personalities as strong and often conflicting. These sort of interpersonal problems, while endemic of high school, will certainly not help Katie (or Michael) achieve in the future. In education, attitude is everything, and that which you don't allow yourself to be open to you won't learn.