I visited Mom this afternoon - very rainy, it's supposed to snow tonight.
Super Bowl Sunday.
New England Patriots vs Atlanta Falcons.
While driving home I heard the tail end of a Snap Judgment piece by Joyce Lee called "Dropping the Ball". She talked about being a teacher to a young student, Avery, who had an idea that he'd be in the NBA so didn't need to study. She tried hard to help Avery and open his eyes but he didn't respond. She finally started feeling resentful of Avery because she had invested a lot of time trying to help him and he didn't receive it. She didn't pay as much attention to him - she gave up. Soon, Avery dropped out of school.
Reflecting on the incident she said:
"I thought about Avery all the time, especially on graduation. When I signed up to be an educator, I signed up to witness all of my children graduate. But, when it came to Avery, I dropped out. When I saw that he wasn't learning the way I wanted him to learn, I dropped out. When he became too much of a challenge I didn't Work Hard and Think Harder like my class motto. I didn't even show maturity by not taking Avery personally. Instead, I gradually, but surely, threw in the towel...just like he did."
I thought that was powerful.
It's a switcheroo...yeah, the kid wasn't interested and was full of attitude, but she realized she'd done exactly what he did because she was frustrated.
Something to think about!
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