why we do it

today i had one of those "this is why i teach" moments. one of the ones that makes all the hassles, lesson plans, high heels, early mornings, behavior problems, and whiny teenagers worth it. i had given a chapter test in the form of journal entries to my 8th graders. one little girl, who when i came in had about a 45% in the class, had worked her tail off to do a good job on them. she worked hard in class and at home, she had her dad look over them, she drew really detailed pictures, the whole nine yards. for about a week, she would come up to me at the beginning of class and ask if i had graded them yet. finally, i got them done, and she got a 94%. this, combined with some other work, had raised her grade to a 77%. i hadn't put the papers back in their folders yet, but i pulled hers out of the pile and handed it to her when she came in the room. she stared at it, uncomprehending for a moment, then her eyes lit up when she realized what it was. she got this huge grin on her face, and kept saying over and over again, "i got an A. i never get A's on tests." it made me so happy to see the effect that one good grade had on her. giving her that paper made my day. (well, that, and when her baseball-playing older brother fast-pitched an egg rolled up in bubble wrap at the wall during 11th period.)