As the seniors are set to walk across the stage this week I
thought I would dedicate this to them. A
group of us started this journey last summer as we met once a week for about 90
minutes. This was both an introduction
to economics and each other. Grateful
that students would give up their time during the summer to get a head start on
economics.
When the regular school year started the total class joined
us on the journey. During this time, we
met a couple of times a week before school started to review key concepts that
we had learned and bring clarity to any questions students had. One student said to me, “I remember peeking
into your room last year wondering who those nerds were that came to school so
early to study. Now I realize I am one
of those nerds” I realize how much most of you have going on in your lives and
truly appreciated your dedication outside the classroom.
During class this year we worked on vulnerability and trying
to get students to understand we all make mistakes. It was fun watching you add to the Bressler
Blunder board which eventually led to a donut celebration. What I truly appreciated was the great
questions that came from you throughout the year. There were often questions that were outside
the curriculum (which was great) and questions that helped clarify the
curriculum. Your curiosity was
inspiring.
You guys also brought changes to the classroom which will I
will continue to use next year. I now
realize the impact of putting the kudo slip on student’s desks which also works
with questions. When putting either one
of these on the desk it led to triple the responses. Our list of people who were rejected from
colleges made people realize that not everyone was getting into the college of
their choice. If you were rejected you
were not alone.
We had a lot of truly talented people this year in
economics. What was great to see
however, is how helpful each of you were to each other. When viewing the class, I could consistently
see one person helping another, making each other feel comfortable asking for
help. It is also nice to see that
sometimes the person who normally gives help needed to ask for it. It showed that most people left their egos at
the door.
We then had the student walkout in which I am extremely
proud of the seniors who helped organize and promote the walkout. This group of people show their passion and
determination to bring about change. On
the other side of the coin it was great to see people stay in class because
they did not share the same beliefs.
Both sides of the issue handing it in a manner that was respectful of
each other.
I will end with one piece of advice and one challenge. The piece of advice is that you sit in the
first three rows of every lecture class you take. It seems the closer you are to the professor
the easier it is to concentrate. Also,
the statistics show that people who sit in the first three rows get better
grades than people who do not.
I will leave you with one last challenge. You will probably go to class 18-21 hours a
week in college compared to the 30-hour week in high school. That will leave you with some free time on
your hands. Find a school near you and
volunteer to tutor one student for one hour every week. It is truly amazing how much you can
accomplish one on one with a student. The
teachers will probably want to give you more than one student but stick to one
the impact can be huge. Make the world a
better place one hour and one student at a time.
Thanks again for a great year.
With love, gratitude and admiration
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