HEATHER
MIGDON
Diary #11
Talking
On-Line with My Students
I have heard similar stories from almost every middle grades teacher I know. Students seem agitated and angry all day, and suddenly, at the end of the school day, you are cooler than B2K.
It never ceases to surprise me how the same students who spent the entire afternoon daring you to correct their misbehavior can whine and beg to be allowed to stay in your room after school and "hang out" as soon as the bell rings. Aren't I the same person at 3:45 p.m. that I was at 1:45 p.m.? The answer is no.
I woke up yesterday with three e-mails that stuck out in my inbox. The three subject lines read "Wassup Ms. Migdon," "Hey Gurl," and "From your favorite student 4real." I immediately scanned the e-mail addresses, but considering my students' many creative aliases, they were no help in deciphering from whom the messages had been sent. I read the e-mails as voraciously as I read the last few pages of a John Grisham novel, and, being in a good mood, I decided to ignore the myriad grammatical mistakes. Stephanie wrote to tell me how nervous she was that she would not get into an out-of-boundary junior high and end up at the neighborhood junior high that the majority of students never graduate from. Tiesha wrote to tell me that the saddest thing in her life was when her father was killed a year ago, this month. Serita just wanted to me to e-mail her record-card grades before the school mailed them out. All three e-mails ended with "holla back." I read and replied to the e-mails, amazed at my students' honesty and trust. My kids were telling me things they don't say in class or write in journals. I could sense how much my kids wanted a reply—along with personal attention from their teacher. I know intuitively, without having read it in any educational journal, that carrying on conversations via e-mail with my students is infinitely valuable. The benefits reach beyond the obvious writing practice the children are getting. Many of my students do not regularly communicate with caring adults other than parents—and some do not even have that. Months ago, I heard from a community activist that the biggest predictor of academic and life success is contact with at least one adult who is actively interested in their lives. I know I'm not the perfect teacher, and I know that my kids could be learning more, but I'm grateful that my students consider it worth their time to e-mail me about things that are concerning them. And I hope I continue to receive e-mails from them even after they leave my classroom.
