An Honors Student Does Not a Critical-Thinker Necessarily Make

By heather on June 4, 2008

So my colleague who currently teaches 8th grade Language Arts tripped on a cord, flew to the corner of a table and was momentarily knocked unconscious behind her desk today.  It was during her Honors class.

Apparently, the class sat stunned.  Finally, and we’re talking after a long “finally”, one student, and I mean only one, crept around the teacher’s desk, looked at the floor, and announced, “Um, guys, she’s not moving.”   

The teacher opened an eye with a groan and whispered for the student to go to the office.  The one student ran to get an adult (mind you, there were rooms on either side of hers where adults were currently teaching and were available to come to her aid), and the teacher, bleeding from the head, had to sit up by herself and ask for a paper towel.

OK, so my question is this: would you rather be hit on the head in a room of A students stunned by a spontaneous turn of events or a room of struggling latch-key kids who have to juggle their own nightly homework with the added responsibility of taking care of their three younger cousins?    

A critical thinker does not mean Honors.  It means honorable.  

PS Since this incident, our district hasn’t fixed our crazy cordage problem, but they did have someone come in and talk to us at a faculty meeting about how to safely walk around our rooms.  Bass-ackward, right?