It cracks me up how eager and excited I was to see the awful first crop of lit circle projects. Most of them totally sucked. I'm so amused by their badness. It's like how last year, Stephen predicted that the average on the first history test would be sixty, and I was aghast at that low number, but he was spot on. We spent so much time instructing and pulling and conferencing and suggesting for their first projects last year, but they were mostly sucky, too. It took a few rounds for the majority to step it up and realize what it takes to be a successful sixth grader.
That's why I was amused this year by the prospect of so many sub-par creations. I was eager to see how the kiddies would fuck up. Despite my repeated suggestions, despite my elucidation of project requirements, despite my going to each group and telling them exactly what they needed to change in order to receive full credit, there were the duds. We got a confusing cowboy infomercial (not quite relevant to the book at hand), several Wanted! posters (devoid of details identifying the perpetrator), and a sad, empty diorama. I'm laughing as I type this.
One of the hardest lessons for a new teacher is you have to let them fail.
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