I Just Kept Smiling

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Monday, 7:45am I am met at the door by a student. 
She just finished reading Delirium by Lauren Oliver. Now she wants to know if Alex dies at the end of the book. I just smiled.

"You'll have to read the next book to find out."
"Mrs. Day...." in that whiny voice only teenage girls can have.

Every time I saw her, she begged for the answer. I just kept smiling. She googled a summary of Pandemonium to see if she could find her answer. No luck. I just kept smiling.

She came to class 7th hour.

"Where's that book?"

I point to where it's at and she goes over to get it.

"I'm going to read the last pages and see!"

She flips through the book, looking for her answer. She doesn't find it.

"I'm just going to read the whole thing tonight to find out."

"What if the second book doesn't tell you either?"

"Mrs. Day!"
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Wednesday, after our 10 minute reading time:

"Mrs. Day! Are you kidding me about the end of this book?"
I just smiled.

Freshmen boys aren't my biggest group of enthusiastic readers. Some will play lots of games to make me think they are reading, but they fake read a lot.

But this boy, this one, he found a book he loved. Gym Candy by Carl Deuker  This is a no fail book for my high school boys. I've never had one not like it. They like all his other books too, but this is the gateway book.

And now that this one read the book, it will find it's way into more hands. And more boys will say, "Are you kidding me about the end of this book?"

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All week.
The bi-quarterly meeting of PA (Procrastinators Anonymous) meets bi-quarterly in our high school The large group meetings take place in Roomie's classroom. The Retake Queen, as I like to think of her, allows students to reassess their learning constantly. If they don't score well enough on an assessment, they can retake it. There are procedures to follow, but they can bring up their grade. And that is a wonderful thing.

And we don't believe in zeroes. What do those show? Nothing. Zeroes are easy. But for us, zeroes are a placeholder until you get the work done. So, we are always on kids to get the work made up. Don't let those zeroes stand in the way of showing what you've learned.

It does, however, make for an interesting week right before midterms or the end of the quarter. The smell of panic is in the air. Early mornings, prep periods, class periods, after school.
The Procrastinators arrive. Anxious. Knowing they waited too long. Hoping for the best.

And we just smile.