My Favorite Mistake
Who: Melissa Noel
Role: Teaching & Learning Coach, Smithfield-Selma High School
While teaching AP English Language & Composition in Wildwood, Missouri, I taught seniors who were applying to some of the top colleges in the country; I was supposed to challenge and prepare them for their next step. I was intimidated, and I had every right to be intimidated! This was a tough crowd!
If I discussed an article from a magazine, they were quick to note the publisher, author, and bias. I had to stay one step ahead of them because they were quick to question and challenge me. Until I had this job as a TLC, I have never worked harder than I did at Lafayette High School.
My goal was to advance their analytical skills by teaching them useful tone words, such as pedantic, bombastic, acerbic, etc. This was an appropriate goal for AP Lang, so I felt confident that the activities I required were justified. Every week, students were given fifteen words and given a project to complete that demonstrated proficiency of those words. Some of the projects were sophisticated collages, illustrated books, written songs, etc. One student, Jared, refused to do the projects.
I did what every bitter teacher in a fixed mindset would do -- I made the projects count more the next quarter. When I told the class that the projects would count more, I looked directly at Jared and smiled. He shrugged and asked: “Why do I have to do the projects when I get a hundred every week on the quizzes?”
Wow. That was a mighty fine question. I moved on and continued with the projects and the quizzes. There was no way that I was going to back down.
I never told Jared that he was absolutely right and that the projects were probably sophomoric (see what I did there?) for his abilities. He didn’t need the rudimentary (and, yes, stupid) activities to learn the words. I continued those projects for the entire year, and Jared ended the course with a B when he probably should have had an A.
The following year, I dropped the projects as a requirement unless students received a 70 or below on the quiz the previous week. Projects were only a requirement for extra credit if students were struggling to find a study method of their own.
In case you’re wondering, Jared did find out about my changes. His brother, Brad, was in my class the following year. Brad’s first question when I started talking about vocabulary was: “Are we going to have to do those dumb vocabulary projects that my brother refused to do?”
“No, Brad. I learned more from Jared than he learned from me.”
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