Meet RP

RP is my favorite student. Well I don’t really know if he counts as my favorite student. One of the main reasons I like him is because he simply does what is asked of him. Perhaps in a good school he would just blend in. However, at my school he sticks out. So much so that I wish I could pick him up and put him back down in a good school that will appreciate him and help him grow. Not my school.

RP is in the 9th grade. He was originally placed in my advanced 9th grade Algebra class. However, due to scheduling issues, he was switched to my homeroom/1st period. He is always the first person in my room and he ALWAYS comes in and says good morning. Perhaps not always with a smile but he always speaks to me. Better yet, he always addresses me with respect.

I feel bad for RP because he was switched out of the class with his friends and other students like him that would allow him to really achieve greatness. Instead he is in a class with a love of behavior problems. I spend on average 10 min out of 50 min a day dealing with kids or waiting for people to shut up. That is 50 min a week (one class period) or 200 min a month (FOUR class periods or nearly a week of learning). I suppose I could try actually being an effective teacher and discipline students, but right now I have zero motivation. So instead poor RP loses out.

BUT RP pushes through. He asks questions when I do get the chance to teach. And because I know he tries so hard and is so smart, I make sure to check on him and make sure he is understanding what we are talking about.

Yup RP is just a nice young man that sits quietly in my class and soaks up every word that I am allowed to utter in my classroom. Perhaps not one of the funniest students. Perhaps not the most charming student. However, what I have come to appreciate is a student who just follows directions. And the thing is RP reaps the rewards. By simply doing what is asked of him, he gets better grades. It could be because there is a correlation between focus in class and grades. Or it could be because grades are subjective and completely up to the teacher, thus being a good student could work out to your benefit…I guess that’s why there was always a teacher’s pets in classes growing up. Perhaps they were really the smart kids. They just knew how to play the system!