grateful. It would be much easier on me to grade all of your papers in a night. I take my time to make sure I'm being as fair as possible to each of you.”
After that, no one bothered old Bailey anymore. Mrs. Bailey seemed to have no difficulty controlling her class. She never had disruptions and rarely had students back talk her. When someone did act up, she simply gave them what one student referred to as the “Look of Death.” That look could stop a train dead in its tracks, Tabitha thought. There was nothing more terrifying or intimidating than Mrs. Bailey when she was upset.
When she walked into the classroom holding her students' essays, Mrs. Bailey did not look pleased. She leaned against her desk and faced her class. Tabitha tried to make eye contact but found it too difficult.
“I have graded your papers,” Mrs. Bailey said simply. “Some of you did remarkably well and exceeded my expectations for your work. Most of you, however, did not do so well. In fact, the majority of you failed to even demonstrate understanding of the assignment at all.” Mrs. Bailey let out a deep sigh. Tabitha felt immediately sorry for her. It seemed like Bailey really loved her job, but struggled to motivate the students who didn't have much interest in reading.
As Mrs. Bailey began to hand out the essays, she continued speaking. “For those of you who received less than a “C” grade, I will allow you to rewrite your essay. You have one week from today to complete the rewritten paper. If you fail to complete your rewritten paper, your current grade will stand.” A few of the students looked relieved at this revision policy. Tabitha was surprised at Mrs. Bailey's act of kindness. Most teachers would make the student keep the poor grade as a motivational tool.
Tabitha's paper landed face down on her desk.
“Please see me after class today,” Mrs. Bailey said, as she continued handing out the essays.
Tabitha flipped her paper over to reveal her grade. A large “B-” was written in red ink at the top of her paper. Tabitha was surprised at the grade, as she had hoped for an “A.” Curiously overwhelmed her as she wondered what Mrs. Bailey wanted to talk to her about. Tabitha's essay had been on a short story she had read. The essay discussed the themes of loyalty and betrayal as evidenced in the lives of two friends. She had felt a deeply personal connection to the story and had hoped that her feelings and passion were apparent in her essay. Now she began to doubt herself greatly and feared that Mrs. Bailey had hated the essay.
When the classroom emptied at the end of the hour, Tabitha approached Mrs. Bailey's desk, essay in hand.
“Tabitha,” Mrs. Bailey smiled. “I enjoyed your essay very much.”
“Then...then why am I in trouble?” Tabitha blurted out, embarrassed and confused.
Mrs. Bailey laughed. “You're not in trouble, dear. I just wanted to talk to you about your essay.”
“What about it?”
“Your writing style shows real promise. I can tell you really felt drawn in to the story. There are just a few minor grammatical mistakes that I just couldn't let slide. Without those, your essay would have been “A” work, hands down.”
Mrs. Bailey pointed out a few problems that Tabitha had with her formatting style. She had a couple of run-on sentences and a fragment sentence. Tabitha felt embarrassed at her juvenile mistakes, but was thankful for Bailey's kind criticism.
“One thing I noticed,” Mrs. Bailey mentioned, “is that you really demonstrated understanding of the themes in this story. Many students struggle to identify different elements of a story, but it seemed to come naturally to you. I wonder if you yourself have ever dealt with a difficult friendship because your analysis of the story really captures what I think the author was trying to demonstrate about the dynamics of a working friendship. The characters really do argue and then make up, dance and then
After that, no one bothered old Bailey anymore. Mrs. Bailey seemed to have no difficulty controlling her class. She never had disruptions and rarely had students back talk her. When someone did act up, she simply gave them what one student referred to as the “Look of Death.” That look could stop a train dead in its tracks, Tabitha thought. There was nothing more terrifying or intimidating than Mrs. Bailey when she was upset.
When she walked into the classroom holding her students' essays, Mrs. Bailey did not look pleased. She leaned against her desk and faced her class. Tabitha tried to make eye contact but found it too difficult.
“I have graded your papers,” Mrs. Bailey said simply. “Some of you did remarkably well and exceeded my expectations for your work. Most of you, however, did not do so well. In fact, the majority of you failed to even demonstrate understanding of the assignment at all.” Mrs. Bailey let out a deep sigh. Tabitha felt immediately sorry for her. It seemed like Bailey really loved her job, but struggled to motivate the students who didn't have much interest in reading.
As Mrs. Bailey began to hand out the essays, she continued speaking. “For those of you who received less than a “C” grade, I will allow you to rewrite your essay. You have one week from today to complete the rewritten paper. If you fail to complete your rewritten paper, your current grade will stand.” A few of the students looked relieved at this revision policy. Tabitha was surprised at Mrs. Bailey's act of kindness. Most teachers would make the student keep the poor grade as a motivational tool.
Tabitha's paper landed face down on her desk.
“Please see me after class today,” Mrs. Bailey said, as she continued handing out the essays.
Tabitha flipped her paper over to reveal her grade. A large “B-” was written in red ink at the top of her paper. Tabitha was surprised at the grade, as she had hoped for an “A.” Curiously overwhelmed her as she wondered what Mrs. Bailey wanted to talk to her about. Tabitha's essay had been on a short story she had read. The essay discussed the themes of loyalty and betrayal as evidenced in the lives of two friends. She had felt a deeply personal connection to the story and had hoped that her feelings and passion were apparent in her essay. Now she began to doubt herself greatly and feared that Mrs. Bailey had hated the essay.
When the classroom emptied at the end of the hour, Tabitha approached Mrs. Bailey's desk, essay in hand.
“Tabitha,” Mrs. Bailey smiled. “I enjoyed your essay very much.”
“Then...then why am I in trouble?” Tabitha blurted out, embarrassed and confused.
Mrs. Bailey laughed. “You're not in trouble, dear. I just wanted to talk to you about your essay.”
“What about it?”
“Your writing style shows real promise. I can tell you really felt drawn in to the story. There are just a few minor grammatical mistakes that I just couldn't let slide. Without those, your essay would have been “A” work, hands down.”
Mrs. Bailey pointed out a few problems that Tabitha had with her formatting style. She had a couple of run-on sentences and a fragment sentence. Tabitha felt embarrassed at her juvenile mistakes, but was thankful for Bailey's kind criticism.
“One thing I noticed,” Mrs. Bailey mentioned, “is that you really demonstrated understanding of the themes in this story. Many students struggle to identify different elements of a story, but it seemed to come naturally to you. I wonder if you yourself have ever dealt with a difficult friendship because your analysis of the story really captures what I think the author was trying to demonstrate about the dynamics of a working friendship. The characters really do argue and then make up, dance and then
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