#DWHabit - Word of the Day - Average

There are very few words that I really dislike. "Average" is one for which I have a very strong dislike.  Growing up in my family was a comparison between us; who was smarter, prettier, more talented.  It was the same at school. I'd over hear teachers talking about students. "Oh you know, they're just like their mom I had in sixth grade. They're going to be an average student just like her. We can't expect much more out of them."  I wanted to join the conversation and ask them why they felt that way.  The picture above depicts how I see average. Average means stuck in the middle. You aren't good or bad.  It is almost as if you don't exist.  I have no "average" students. I have students who need more instruction in certain areas. I have students who need more encouragement. 

I have students who excel at one thing but not another. I don't see them as middle of the road kids.  We quantify students so often. Why? Do we feel so mediocre that we have to make others feel mediocre?  In my opinion, and it is only mine, average means mediocre.  I tell my students who are striving for a "B" and only make a "C" that they just haven't learned all of the skills yet to get them there. It is a process. I have no "AVERAGE" kids, I have only "EXCELLENT" kids.  Sometimes we are the only one who believes in them.  

I had a student who was completing work after school one day and their parent and siblings were walking around the classroom while they completed their assignment. Every once in a while the younger siblings would come by and tell him how stupid they was. I spoke to the parent about this and was told that the younger ones did this at home all the time and she allowed it because she figured it would make him work harder to be as smart as the younger ones were. She could not seem to celebrate the accomplishments the older child  made where he was. That is so sad. How many kids do we see each day, how many fellow co-workers have been beaten down to believe they are "Average". Why can they not be Excellent where they are?

This is just something for you to ponder.