Touché

The warm up activity in class today was to frame a quick claim about a character in a short story we had read. "Is Squeaky likeable?" I asked, and students were expected to post a debatable claim with three character traits to support it. There is a kid in the class who has lately been refusing to participate in the warm up. His recalcitrance poses a problem: the activity is formative and therefore not graded, but it is a requirement of the class, designed to either review, introduce, or extend important concepts, as well as to build community and engagement. 

Can it be a pain sometimes? No doubt. I'm sure there are mornings when several kids would rather sit there than participate, but in my estimation that's not what's best for them. Many students can be encouraged with rewards or consequences unrelated to grades, but this particular child doesn't fall into that category. And so I have developed an uneasy truce with him; if the question is more fun than academic and he can make a case about his ignorance of the topic, then I'll let it go. 

But today? That was not the case. We were taking a test as our next activity, and I insisted he finish this one before he start the test. Still he resisted, contending that he needed to re-read the story, and getting up several times to blow his nose. All around him, other students were sharing their ideas, several of whom put forth the claim that Squeaky was likeable because she cared about her brother. 

I pushed back a little. "Caring for your brother may be admirable, but does it necessarily make her likeable?" I asked. "I care about my brother. Do you like me?"

The unwilling student happened to pass by my desk for a tissue at that moment. "Hmm," he said to himself, but loudly enough that I could hear. "Definitely debatable."

At least he was paying attention.