Similarities and Differences

Detention

Friday, August 25

I don't remember the last time I felt this tired. It's been a long week. The hard stuff hasn't even begun.

Today wasn't fun because I'm that teacher who plays bad cop because no one else does. Yeah, I know showing grace is important, but at the same time, I need to be tough because otherwise, especially nowadays, kids aren't going to learn how to take "no" for an answer.

My first hour started off really well, and everyone got their work done. I was genuinely shocked. I gave everyone a piece of candy. Throughout the rest of the day about a dozen students didn't complete their homework, so I told them that they could either turn in what they had already to get partial credit, or come in for detention after school to attempt full credit. I strongly encouraged detention due to the fact it's the first grade in the grade book.

Only half of them showed up to detention, which pissed me off. Part of me doesn't want to even accept half done work, but I think it's only fair to do that. If they spent some time on it, they should get some credit just to save their grade. Some of the people who didn't show up to detention didn't have a single sentence on their page though. If they didn't show up to detention, and didn't have any work done, they got zeros. Now that's frustrating. I get that some of the kids have to ride the bus and what not, but in real life, the bank isn't gonna care if you forgot or had an inconvenience.

I like to have fun, and I like to be laid back, but structure is important. In a month, barely anyone is going to have detention. It's gonna be great.

In order to gain trust, you have to follow through with your orders or else no one will take you seriously.

"My mom is going to be so mad," one girl said to me after class. She had earned detention. "Why can't I just do it during study hall, and turn it in at the end of the day?"

"Because I asked for it during this hour. I warned everyone in this class, stating that if they did not have their assignment completed, they would need to go to detention to have a chance at full credit. I'm not going to change my mind just for you. That's not fair to anyone else. If you wanna turn in what you have, you can do that." I paused. "I gave you a lot of class time to work yesterday, too, so..."

The poor girl, Abi, looked like she was about to cry. "I just forgot. I'm sorry."

I folded my arms. "Abi, look, it's not the end of the world if you don't get full credit."

"I don't want a F though."

I sighed. "Let me see what you got so far on your paper."

She grabbed it out of her binder, and handed it to me. I read it over. It was about halfway done. The task was to answer ten questions about their lives in a 20 sentence essay. All I remember from that paper is that she loves her dog and that her dad passed away.

I looked at her. "When did your dad pass away?"

"Last year," she said quietly.

"I'm sorry. May I ask how?"

She glared at me a little. "Cancer."

I nodded slowly. "My mom died of cancer, so I know what that's like."

"That sucks."

"Yup." I cleared my throat. "I'll give you a 60, so then you're not failing. You'll have opportunities to get that up very soon. It's the first grade in the grade book. No one cares about it."

Folding her arms, Abi glared. "Why can't you just give me credit if I get it done during study hall instead of having to go to detention?"

"Abi, it's not a big deal, and I told you what the punishment would be yesterday. Why do you expect me to change my mind?"

"Because any normal human being would be reasonable," she snapped. I raised my eyebrows, waiting for her to elaborate or defend herself. An apology would've been nice, too. "If it's not a big a deal, why can't you just give me the credit?"

"My job as a teacher isn't just to teach you English; it's about teaching you how to become a successful adult. In the real world, people say 'no', and then your life goes on. And I have a feeling you won't make this mistake again. Am I right?"

She was so mad. "You don't understand. My mom won't understand."

"If your mom gets mad at you, then have her talk to me. If she's worried about one grade, then explain to her that your teacher is teaching you to get your work done. Own your mistakes. Tell her you messed up."

Abi didn't even look at me when she started to walk out. "Whatever," she said.

"Hey, stop. You need a pass to your next class."

She turned around as she was holding back tears. She walked back to me.

I put a hand on her shoulder. "Abi, why are you so stressed out about one grade?" She just shook her head, not able to talk. "I don't get pleasure in not giving you the grade you want. Really, I hate this part of my job. I don't want you to be stressed out about my class unless the semester is almost over, and you're at a D. I need you to trust me on this one."

She wiped a tear that fell from her eye, nodding.

I wrote her her a quick pass. "If you can make it to detention this afternoon, then great, and if not, you'll be fine. I promise."