A Fourth Grader's View on Teaching

My sister (Emily) and me around the time
this was written.

I found a journal I'd written in my fourth grade class. The way I talked to my teacher about what I thought about the way she taught was both hysterically funny and horrifying for me to read! I think the entries from 11/5/98 and 1/13/99 should have probably been sent to every subsequent teacher for the rest of my educational career to see exactly what they were getting for a student.

The italics under each entry are what my teacher wrote back to me in the journal. Every "typo" you see is just a misspelling on my part back then. I have changed the names of teachers to protect their identities.

10/6/98

The best part of my day is math. I like it because I get to study algebra. I like algebra because it gives me a challenge. I don’t quite understand it but I like learning. Thank you for giving me a challenge. good

10/9/98

I had a grand day when I finished the sixth grade curriculum in spelling. I was the only one in the third grade to do it. I just felt so free. It felt good to be done! I couldn’t wait till the next year to do more spelling. good.

[Note from me today: This previous entry is how I used to be passive-aggressive. I loved spelling and in third grade I was allowed to go ahead and made it all the way through six grade spelling. And then I had to repeat fourth grade spelling in this class because she "didn't do" accelerated stuff in her class. So this was me saying, "I've already done this and I liked how my other teacher did it better."]

11/5/98

I would like Mrs. Jennings to know about “difficult first”. What it is, is that the teacher picks out maybe oh lets say about 6 or 7 problems out of a 20 problem assignment. If the student gets 0 or 1 problem wrong, than they do not have to do the rest of the assignment. If they get more than 1 wrong, they must do the whole thing. I want you to know this because I know most of the stuff you teach. Mrs. King does “difficult first” and I would like you do start it too. I[t] would give me time to get a book written, but also it wouldn’t give you so much to correct. As soon as we get into a routine I’m starting this, and bonus work.

11/24/98

I was thankful when Dad helped me with geography. I was (and still am) greatful because I want to at least make it to the geography bee. I would like to get to the test. I want to get to state. Maybe I will get to national. I doubt it. If I were a betting person, I would bet that you will make it to national.

[Note from me today: I ended up winning the school bee, taking the test, and making it to state. I got 12th at state because I got out on a question about rice being an important crop in Ukraine. Yep, I still remember it. I said, "corn."]

1/13

I would like to skip Reading. Why I want to is because it is so easy. I am wondering if I can test out of it and do things like book reports instead of worksheets. Book reports are much more challenging for me. I am more excelled in Reading than most kids.

[Note from me today: This was after I got in trouble for reading ahead in class one time while our teacher was reading out loud to us. I hated reading out loud! The book was "The Trumpet of the Swan." I'd just done a book report on a different book and loved it.]

1/27

Do we have a day when we could have a poetry reading? That could be really awesome. Everybody could bring a dollar and we go to the Blue Star Café. We could each buy a hot chocolate. You should have each kid write a couple of poems to read aloud while we are there. This would be fun. Only I’d want a latté! (Fifth grade does this)

[Note from me today: This was not my idea. My dad was a fifth and sixth grade teacher in the same school and as an alternative to going to the Miss Montana speech, he would take his classes to the coffee shop for a poetry reading. The other teachers in the school didn't really like him much--he broke the mold and didn't like playing the game. He did things above and beyond the call of duty of a teacher and the other teachers were threatened by him. My fourth grade teacher made me go to the speech instead of letting me go with my dad. Again, this is fourth grade level passive-aggression telling her that I think she's not doing enough.]

Looking back, I can see why all my teachers didn't really like having me in class all the time. In all honesty, though, my opinions haven't changed one bit. The fact that in November my teacher was saying "when we get into a routine we'll get to this" shocks me. We'd already been in school for three months! When do you "get into a routine" as a teacher? I think the first week or so is what we learned in college. I still think that kids should be able to test out of something if they already know it, and they should never be punished for deciding they want to accelerate themselves. 

Reading back through this journal made me grateful that I had the family I have. I always had support at home when it came to me being excited or upset about what we were (or were not) doing in school. However, I don't think I ever developed the filter I needed to have a good relationship with teachers I didn't respect. I never had a problem telling them when they were wrong, that I already knew what they were teaching, or how I thought they could teach it better. 

So, teachers, don't make your kids do stuff they don't need to do just because you don't want to work harder. Yes, it will be more work for you, but if you're in the profession for the right reason, you won't care if you have to work nights and weekends to make sure that all your students succeed to the best of their abilities!

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi