Dear So and So

[Veronica]

Dear Coworker;

Do you really think you have been "given" a "bad" group of kids for the last four years? Seriously, I am tired of hearing that I have all "the kids who care", "all the supportive parents", "all the kids who can think". And that it's been this way for four years now.

Maybe it's not the kids. Whenever I tell you about something cool going on in my class, you say, "Oh, my kids couldn't do that." Have you tried? Yeah, we talked about Pythogorean Theorem in class the other day. Most of the kids didn't get the formula, but they loved seeing it work when they drew out right angles with sides of 3 and 4 and 6 and 8. So what if it's a 7th grade standard. It's your job to teach them to think. That means pushing them out of their comfort zone.

When we meet to divide out classes for next year, you better voice your concerns. You're the one who thinks things have been done unfairly in the past. Although I took two of your "bad" kids from last year and have turned them around and you have repeatedly said some of my students would drive you batty!

Veronica