Ah, that eighth grade class. When I walk into that room, I am living the dream. They are ready, respectful, and roaring to go.
On Friday, I was covering for my co-teacher and I was on my own. We talked about the lesson — we would be reading Roald Dahl’s Lamb to the Slaughter, and I fully assumed they would want to read on their own, then we would discuss as a class. One young woman raised her hand and asked if they could possibly work in groups. Up to now, they had been reading Poe, and she found it much easier to read with her peers, rather than having to go it alone.
We came up with a plan. Students would work together for twenty minutes, then we would re-group to see where we were. The timer went off, and I began circling the room. What I saw was simply beautiful: students standing and reading for each other, having great conversations about addiction, and domestic roles, and simply behaving like true scholars. Most importantly, there were no behavioral issues to get in their way.
It was, quite simply, a gift.