In class, we've often joked about getting to PLC on time as a sort of race. Get there, and you get the kid of your choice. Arrive a few minutes late and they've likely been snatched up by some other tutor-happy menace. It engenders in us a sense of friendly competition, and most definitely a sense of pride in working with the same student to the point you are able to see progress. For me, as I drove toward PLC this morning, I hoped that I would be able to see Alana again. I enjoyed working with her, and she seemed to want to work with me just as much. When I ran into the lobby of PLC, one quick look told me that none of my classmates were filing in behind me. This could be a good sign; maybe they were running late. Maybe, just maybe, I'd break my record of working with a student twice in a row.
No such luck! Mrs. Green walked across the hall and reported that Alana had been placed with someone else. Elijah was around, but he had (happily) finished English and was onto Spanish, a subject that I have no experience in. Justin was missing, as well. This left me with one option: Kassandra. I'll admit it—I was a little nervous to get back with her. She radiated “leave me alone” beams, crouched closely to her computer. But when Mrs. Green asked “Do you want to try it with Kassandra again?” of course I said yes.
I went over to Kassandra and grabbed a seat beside her. “Hey, how's it going?” I asked.
“Oh, y'know, good. Just don't wanna do this shit” she mumbled.
“I know it can be a downer. But hey, tell you what—let's power through it.” I responded.
And that is what we did. Kassandra had lots of questions for me, which was a good sign. And what was even better was that, after she and I would finish a quiz, she would ask Mrs. Green for a “check.” In PLC lingo, asking for a check means the teacher looks at the students' quiz results before they submit for a grade so that they have a chance to score higher. The teacher will respond by giving the student a post-it note with a list of questions to go back and review. Kassandra had less than gentle ways of asking, and had absolutely no qualms about interrupting Mrs. Green when she was talking with another student, but apparently this was still a good development. When working with herself, I learned, she was less likely to ask if her answers were correct. With me there, it looked like she was determined to get her quiz grades as high as she could.
This time, I noticed something about Kassandra that I do, as well. When I am very high-strung and want to work faster than I seem capable, I have the tendency to mark time with my feet. It almost looks like a football drill when I get restless enough. Kassandra was doing the same thing. She would often take leaps of faith and randomly select answers after reading a fragment of the question, and I would respond by asking her to slow down for a second and “Does that make sense?” We spent the period on this foot-on-the-gas/break-hitting way. At the end of the class Kassandra's grade was up to a B+! It had been a C before we had begun. She had increased by a huge percentage. Mrs. Green came over and said something to the tune of “See what you can do when you apply yourself? I am so proud of you.”
Kassandra writhed under the compliment. She blushed and said “Thaaaanks.”
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