Slice 27 or 31
Dear Teacher,
I am a cunning little fox. I have out-smarted you. I sneakily found a way to avoid doing the reading of the book for the ditto book report you so happily assigned. I made up my own book (title, author, and plot)! I wrote this all out for you to read teacher just so you’d know I really read my book. Did you know this author teacher? Did you know this book? I wonder why you never looked up my book to see if it was real? Why did you give me an “O”? What is your purpose in assigning this work teacher? Is it so you have pretty work with which to decorate our walls? Are the walls teaching us something or temporarily decorating for visiting eyes to see?
Please teacher, make our work meaningful and authentic. Please take an interest in us… We have tons of great ideas to share with you and each other if you’d only listen and let us talk. Do you know our interests teacher? Why don’t you ask us instead of just telling us things? Please stop making us do workbook pages and ditto sheets-and enough with the coloring*** (it’s for babies). We want to be real readers and writers. We know it won’t be easier for you teacher, but it will truly help us grow, learn and be prepared for the future.
Thank you,
Your Second Grade Student
The student...
is...
me...
when I was a second grader.
This is truly from a the heart second grade student who really did make up a story just to fill in a book report.
***Here is a link to an article about the crayola curriculum...
http://mikeschmoker.com/crayola-curriculum.html
So great that you became a teacher yourself. I'll share this post with my colleagues.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your good wishes today.
Holding good thoughts for your daughter.
Terje
Oh you little smarty pants! I can't believe you made up your own book! But you speak the truth about everything else . . . thinking about purpose. Thanks for giving me something to think about - - wish my colleagues could also read this letter. Hmmmm . . . may have to find a way.
ReplyDeleteThank you and hope your daughter is doing well!
I don't know what dittos are. I know some of the teachers in my building have told me a few times yet I can never remember. ;) This was a beautifully written piece. Sad and beautiful. You were clever. Did you teacher ever notice you made up the book?
ReplyDeleteDana,
DeleteDittos are basically the purple copies of blackline masters that used to be made by attaching them to this drum that had blue/purple ink. After attaching it to the drum, you would crank the handle in circles to make it create copies! It was prior to the invention of the copier machine...the ink would get all over your hands etc. Totally messy!
If she did know that I made it up, she never said anything! I don't think she knew...
I love your voice in this, I hope this gets copied and hung on bulletin boards all around the country.
ReplyDeleteElsie,
DeleteThanks, do you think it will go that far?