Anecdotes!

The seventh graders learned a new word yesterday. Anecdote. It's a great word. And it reminded me that one of the words in the title of this blog is "tales." I have been doing more bitching than tale-telling, really, and I hope to remedy that right now. So here we go.

I find it interesting that I feel like I really know so many kids already. However, I find it even more fascinating that the same child can convey different personalities depending on what class he/she is in. For instance, there is one boy in the seventh grade reading class who needs help staying focused but is generally on task and participates all the time. But in English, he's a completely different person. He is NEVER on task, is always a distraction, and rarely participates in class. I have no idea what the differentiation in his grades are (or if there is one) in the two classes, but I don't understand how he can be completely different in each one. Granted, the reading class is much smaller and thus he gets a little more attention, and the material is easier and the teacher moves more slowly, but I still don't think that accounts for the complete personality change.

As another example, a boy from the eighth grade reading class is also in one of the eighth grade English classes I help with. His situation is entirely the opposite: in English, he is polite, on task, and seems to be interested in the material. But in reading, he is constantly (and perhaps deliberately) pissing off the teacher, distracting others, and generally not staying on task. It's the same thing here-- the reading class is smaller and the material is easier than the English class. I don't think it's that he doesn't want attention, because otherwise he would avoid being yelled at, not trying to create them.

I just find it interesting that our environments have so much emphasis upon our personalities. Clearly, school is a classic example of this phenomenon.