Saving Baby Pandas

The kids are reading a book in which an English teacher reads kids' journals out loud to the class. My students were appalled. One of them wrote:

I think Mr. Birkway is a horrible teacher because some people use their journals as a diary and write private stuff in them. I know my teacher would never do any stuff like that because she cares about the students and knows our personalities. I think she knows every one of us and what we do by heart. Mr. Birkway did have a point about what the students write about. he says this person is expressing their feelings and getting it off their chest. But I still don't like the fact that Mr. Birkway read those journals.

On another note, many of my students need extra credit. I told them that they could get partial credit if they wrote me a letter about why they weren't doing homework. One kid, "Francisco," said that his reasons were boring - could he make up a fictional reason? This is his letter:

Instead of doing my homework, I've been too busy saving the little baby pandas in China. I was saving them from being killed and turned into clothes and furniture. Another reason why I couldn't do my homework because I had to give surgery to a woman who had heart problems, and she was 7 months pregnant also. The operation went really well. the baby came out weighing 4 pounds 3 ounces.

Comments

Gracie B. said…

Please tell me you gave Francisco credit. Any letter that creative deserves it. Great work!

4:00 PM

Bronwyn said…

I sure did! :) I counted it as creative writing.

7:54 PM

Volunteers

I had some of the most overqualified volunteers ever in my third grade class. This may have had something to do with the fact that I shamelessly begged my friends to help in any way possible. I think there were a few friends who I asked to come as soon as I met them, before I was entirely sure of their names. Some of my volunteers included: -Someone with an MFA helping kids read -a PhD candidate in chemical engineering from Stanford helping with math -a PhD candidate in civil engineering from Cal helping with math -several PhD candidates in engineering from Cal teaching about construction (several years in a row) and helping with a field trip -my extremely talented brother bringing his drums several times -a friend from Pixar who got us tours three different years, once when they were no longer giving tours - and came to the class to sign the kids' toys from Cars . -a physical therapist (who I think has a masters') who helped the kids with reading -many athlet...

The Difference a School Makes

Update: 9/28/26: If you are reading this, the spoiler alert is that things got much harder for Jorge after this, and we kept in touch over the decades, even as he’s been incarcerated. He’s getting out of prison in early 2027 and I’m raising money to help him start his life fresh because everyone deserves second chances. Please take a look! Wow. I've talked before about the two kids that a friend and I mentor in a way. I'll call them Jorge (the older one) and Luis (the younger). I had Jorge in my class in third grade and he has had it rough. He's the oldest of six children and was born when his mother was 14. His mom is frequently in rehab or jail, although she seems to have been out for the last couple of years. If she's clean or not is anyone's guess. Jorge helped his grandmother raise Luis. He's always been super over-responsible, stressed out, and had way too many adult responsibilities. About a year ago, Jorge started to crack. He was 13, which isn't f...

Cinderella, retold (and much better)

A seventh-grade student rewrote Cinderella and I think it’s much better! The Dressmakers Once there was a girl named Cinderella whose mother died. Then her father married again, a woman who did not care for Cinderella. She only cared for her own daughters and her husband's fortune. Cinderella’s father made sure they were always fair to Cinderella but two years later, her father died. Cinderella was left alone with her stepmother and stepsisters. Cinderella was treated like a house maid but got no money for her work. She had to make the meals, iron the clothes and more. But on some things, like cleaning the windows and floor, Cinderella had to clean them five times per day or according to her stepmother, they will not shine as much as they should. Cinderella would often cry by a tree by her parents' graves. In that tree lived a little bird who Cinderella would talk with. She would talk to the bird about her stepmother’s many chores and little love for her, a...

Bronwyn Harris, Author

Search This Blog