Believe

From the desk of Kris…

Teachers, as you get to know this year’s class I would like you to think about the power of believing in your students.  We all say “I believe every child is a learner.”  Do we really mean it or is it something we say because it is the ‘right thing to say’ and if we didn’t say it, what kind of teacher would we be?  The following story a prime example of how four little words can change someone’s life.

I was never a very good student.  I was assured by my parents that I was smart but ‘just didn’t apply myself’ (whatever that meant).   I was happy with Cs and ecstatic with Bs and expected some Ds and Fs sprinkled in.  I am proud to say I made these grades with NO effort!

Now let’s fast forward to my first year of college.  I was a great ‘standardized test taker’ and had placed into Calculus– of all the math classes possible for freshman I got this one.  I showed up and fully expected to at least make a C.   I was promptly completely and utterly lost.  Did I ask for help?  Did I seek a tutor?  No. It is what I really expected the outcome to be because that was what I could do with no effort.   As the weeks went by, my professor laughed when I walked into the class.  He believed something I was beginning to suspect….I would NOT pass this class.  And I didn’t.

Fast forward again to junior year (after dropping out and taking some time off, I went back to a different college).  I was taking a history class from a professor whom everyone said was ‘super easy!’  The first exam seemed hard to me (not surprising after not studying or reading the required material) and I just knew I failed it.  I was absent the day he returned the graded tests so I went to his office the next day to pick it up.  He handed me my exam booklet and to my delight and surprise I got a C——-. “Yes!”  I pumped my fist in the air and smiled. He looked at me and said “That is not a good grade and definitely not something of which to be proud.  I told him that I thought I had failed it so I was happy with a C——–. I may have been the first student of his that was excited by this grade.  (I later learned that he never gave anyone Fs.  C—— WAS his F).  I pulled a C out of that class and felt pretty good about it. I believed I was living up to my potential!

The next semester I took another history class with another professor.  I got a C on his first test as well.  After class we were walking down the hall together and he said to me, “I don’t want to see any Cs from you from now on.  You are NOT a C student.  You are an A student.  I want you to pay attention in class, read over your notes, and read the material that I assign. I am here for you if you need help.”  The next four words to me were magical, “I BELIEVE in you.”  I don’t think anyone had ever said that to me before.  He really believed that I could get As? That I could learn?  Well, that got me thinking.  Just maybe I would try it! Besides, what did I have to lose?

I took his advice and started paying attention to what I was doing. I went to his office to clarify confusing concepts.  The next exam I took was EASY!  I knew all of the answers and got an A.   I got all As the rest of my college career including grad school.  It may not seem like much, but it was a life changing moment for me.  His words had set me free from the cycle of mediocrity and self-efficacy that had plagued me my whole life.

Many years later when I became a teacher, I made sure I believed in all of my students. I told them I believed in them…  I wasn’t just saying that, I truly felt it.  I WAS that child that no one believed could achieve and I didn’t ever want my students to feel the way I did.  So as you get settled in to school this year, get to know your students and BELIEVE that they are learners, that they want to learn, and that with your help they can make great achievements!