I'm working at a private school this year teaching middle school. It has been a bit of a learning curve and that is why I haven't posted in awhile. Anyway....
My class was responsible for putting together a short program this week. We started discussing what to do about 3 weeks ago and my students got very ambitious and wanted to write a skit. We did some research and figured out a theme and they got all excited about performing. But...no one was willing or offering to write a script. I think they expected me to do it and I just didn't have time.
Last week I suggested they come up with some songs or something because I truly didn't think we had time to write out a script, cast it, learn lines and practice ....all in less than a week.
But they dug in and got it done. A couple gals wrote the script and I edited it only a bit. I compromised and gave up a little bit of class time so they could practice. I gave them some extra homework to make it up.
Things did not flow smoothly--- people got their feelings bruised because they didn't think they got a big enough part, and we had some absences that made us scramble. The final touch was some snow and slick roads the morning we were to perform--so getting to school on time was tough.
But.....they did it! And it was great.
What did I learn? Don't underestimate students. Always expect the best. When the going gets tough, the tough get going.
