Freshmen in a Fog: Yes, You Can Be a Sophomore!
Two weeks into second semester, and I’m assessing the damage. How did everything shake out? What freshmen pulled it together? What freshmen fell apart in a sea of bubbles chosen poorly?
I ran a credit report and pulled out a key group of kids, a very important group of kids. I pulled out the students who had two credits. That means they passed four classes and failed two. It also means that in order for them to be a sophomore in the fall they will need to pass every single class this semester.
This list was 23 of our almost 425 freshmen. There were others that did worse, but these are the ones that I wanted to talk to today.
I printed off their schedules and charged into the halls of Jefferson High School. For a little over three hours I made the rounds and talked to almost all of them. I entered the classroom and asked the teacher if I could talk to ___________. My speech went something like this:
Can I talk to you for a few minutes? (They reluctantly followed me to a quiet spot in the hallway or an unused room or office.) You are a part of a very important club I’m starting. It’s called the 2.0 club. (Eyebrows up. Curiosity.) I’m talking to students who did pretty good last semester but also failed a couple of classes. According to this report, you passed four classes and failed two. What classes did you fail last semester? (Many didn’t know or guessed.) I wanted to talk to you because a lot of freshmen believe that if they fail a couple of classes it’s kind of all over. (Nodding or looks of mystery.)
Do you know how credits work? (Some guesses, but not a lot of confidence.) Like how much credit will you earn if you pass your first period class this semester? (More guesses with some correct answers.) Ya, you will earn 0.5 credits. And what if you passed all your classes? (We do some math together.) Ya, you will earn three credits. So with the two credits you earned from last semester and the three you’ll earn this semester you will have . . . (wait for it) Yes, five credits.
How many credits do you need to be a 10th grader? (More guessing and more mystery.) You’ll need five credits.
The reason that I wanted to talk to you today is to encourage you to pass all your classes. You passed most of your classes last semester. Now let’s pass all of them and you will walk out of school in May as a sophomore.
How can I help? (Eyebrows up. Eyebrows down.) Would you mind if I checked in with you from time to time? (Thoughtful, then a nod.) How often would work for you? Once a week. Every two weeks? Once a month? (Almost every freshman said every two weeks and signaled with their body that they thought it was a good idea.) All right, keep an eye on that homework that needs doing, and I’ll talk to you in a couple of weeks.
And that was my day. This group of kids are in the fog of high school. They do most of what they need to do, but they are unclear about where it all leads or how we keep score. The agency that is needed is still somewhere in the mist of their academic reality. Maybe today made things a little brighter.
Over the course of this semester, I will meet with these 23 students every two weeks, their grades in my hand, to remind them of the score and point them through the fog to a place where they can arrive proud of what they did their first year of high school and a freshman no more.