The Power of a Positive Referral

Remember the day last week when one of my students refused to do what I asked of him? Two days ago this same student became the teacher. Literally.

Reviewing for state testing whether in North Carolina or Maine is not the most exciting class ever. By Tuesday, we had been reviewing for about a week and the 8^th graders were sick of my voice. I jokingly asked if anyone wanted to teach the class. In no time, I had a volunteer. I was a bit apprehensive as he enthusiastically took the front of the classroom. However, in no time, I was blown away. He had the attention of his classmates. He involved students that don’t usually get involved. He was a natural at teaching! When behavior was getting out of control with a couple students, he quietly gave them a ‘Refocus’. (A form students fill out in another classroom in an attempt to get their behavior back on track.) At one point he gave me a refocus when I interrupted him. I played along and filled it out. At lunch, he sat at the ‘teacher table’ and watched as I filled out a positive referral on him. He began to sit up straighter as his smile grew.

I watched him as he taught. He went over to the students not usually involved and whispered in their ear to let them know their turn was coming. Somewhere along the way, I lost that. He retaught me the importance of a quiet heads-up. He didn’t give warnings when behavior was getting out of hand. The consequence came immediately. Another lesson from him to me – sometimes no warnings are necessary. Mostly he taught me the power of giving students an opportunity to succeed whether it be to teach, prepare for an answer, or writing a positive office referral.

I called his mother after school. Many parents aren’t used to getting phone calls for a positive reason. I left a message before anyone got home. Thirty minutes later, my ‘student teacher’ called me to give me his mother’s cell phone number. He wanted to make sure I got in touch with his mother. As a result of his teaching, he is now considering the possibility of a teaching profession. I have no doubt that he will be an incredible teacher!

As for the teacher in me, I often question whether I am challenging the truly gifted students. I look for ways to keep their interest and engage the intrinsic learner in each of them. In my advanced class, I have only a handful of what I would call truly advanced. As part of Teacher Appreciation Week last week, I asked students to write a letter to a teacher that had made an impact on their life in some way. Many letters were written to me for a variety of reasons. However, one stands out to me more than the others. A letter from one of my truly gifted students telling me how I had made school challenging and fun for him after years of being bored. He supported all the reasons for his appreciation in a single-spaced two-page letter. I have yet to tell that class that a few days earlier the principal informed me she had chosen me to teach the 8^th grade advanced Language Arts class. (I will have a specific curriculum to follow, but I will wait to express my thoughts on that until I know more about it.) One small letter from a student reminded me that I can push and challenge students, no matter their level.