Success Journal 2 - 3/19

One thing that my amazing cooperating teacher has taught me this semester is to stand my ground when confronting, or being confronted by, a student about an issue. It has been hard to do, but I've come to realize how important it is. Not every day is perfect, and sometimes I just have to stick to what I believe and not let students run over me. Today was a day where I faced that challenge. Progress reports got passed out today and a student confronted us about a 0 they received as a participation grade. They said they "didn't remember" what day that was and tried arguing about how they were sure that they had been doing their work that day (no, they definitely did not). As I listened to the excuses, I kept in mind to stay strong and not just say "okay, okay." I know that the student was upset, but I was proud of myself for not compromising my authority and giving into their complaint. I of course feel bad for the student. It makes me sad to see them upset, but in the end, I know I did the right thing.