too bad, so sad

Any teacher that utters that phrase in reaction to a student getting a failing grade should be fired immediately.

Seriously.

Give them a box for their personal possessions and have them escorted out the door! In the corporate world if you are caught visiting porn sites on company time, the usual policy is immediate termination. There is nothing more obscene than the implications of the statement "too bad, so sad". I interpret that statement to represent that the teacher has not only divorced themselves from responsibility for the student's learning, but that their empathy towards that student is nonexistent. Not only nonexistent, but scornful and sarcastic. Put those personality characteristics on a resume and you would be rightfully blackballed from education.

We have all suffered the occasional student that knew which of our buttons they could push and whose goal in life was to act as our personal tormentor. Maybe you reminded them of their evil step-mother and so they have decided to take out all their hate on you. Maybe they reminded you of your annoying little brother. Maybe its you, maybe its them. The point is, when it happens, when that devil child grins joyfully at the nuisance they have caused you, what will you do?

You only have two options. You can either learn how to engage more with the child or you can walk away from their lives, walk away from your responsibility to teach.

If you decide to step away, to distance yourself, then you are setting a precedent that will take you down the path of further disenchantment. Remember the pledge that you made to yourself when you decided to become a teacher; that you were going to be the best, that you were going to enrich the lives of young people. You would be their hope, their guardian.

You can only fulfill that pledge of having a positive impact by walking with the child, engaging them more not less. This situation is one of the truest tests of your integrity. There is never any guarantee of success, but there certainly is a guarantee of failure if you choose to step away. When Rocky Balboa stepped into the ring, he knew that it was going to be a contest, he might not win but he was determined to go the distance.

If life was solely sunshine and roses then you could always have a good day. But, when faced with the challenges existing in life, you have to decide to make a good day.

I have a refrigerator magnet with a quotation from Leo Buscaglia that puts it this way:
"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around."

Make a good day,
Tod

PS. This trailer from Rocky Balboa tells you to fight the good fight and that it isn't going to be easy : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3wuXyOUKJw

PSS. Website for Leo Buscaglia: http://www.buscaglia.com/thoughts.htm
and a video of him speaking of love http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opGlp1pE59s