It was the last paper I graded. These have taken me a week to get through and sadly all of them have been incredibly poor. I know I teach fifth graders, and their writing level is still young, but I could tell my students hadn't put the time an effort into this essay. Then I read the last one. This young man was the first student to support the opinion with facts and details from the articles and video clip I gave them. Which was the whole point of the assignment in the first place.
This student came in as a very nervous, unconfident, and scared writer. He also chose to tell me, when we were discussing women's rights, that women shouldn't be treated equally because they were less of a human being. This young man liked to joke around, so he would look good in front of all the students. Which was part of the reason for his comments.
I started working with the young man on both his writing and treatment of women. His writing improved throughout the year, and he started making comments which made me believe his mindset and viewpoint of women was changing. When I read his essay on women being allowed to fight in combat, I was given proof of his increased writing ability and his understanding of women being equal. As a new teacher, I haven't had the opportunity to really see that growth yet, and I absolutely love it. It completely made my day. His story will be one I tell in the future.
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