As a new teacher at Doull Elementary school in Denver, Kyle Schwartz thought of a simple way to know her third graders, most of whom came from poor families. She asked them to complete the note, "I wish my teacher knew..." and share something about themselves. Their honest answers gave the teacher a chance to understand her students' difficulties." I wish my teacher knew I have no pencils to do my homework," wrote one child. "I wish my teacher knew sometimes my reading homework is not signed because my mom is not free a lot," wrote another. Some showed hope for the future. "I wish my teacher knew that I warn to go to college."
"Some notes are really heartbreaking." Schwartz tells ABC News. "I care deeply about each of my students and I don't want them to be poor forever." She explains, "I hoped to know more about their lives and how I could better support them. So I decided to let them tell me what I needed to know. That was why I created the fill-in-the-blank exercise."
the third graders were allowed to answer anonymously (匿名地) , most wanted to include names. And some were even excited to read their notes out loud, like one shy girl who bravely said that she was lonely. "After she told the class, 'I don't have friends to play with me, I was worried about what they would do," Schwartz tells Us Weekly. However, I felt encouraged to see how much support the other kids offered her. They invited her to play at break and sit with them at lunch. You see, children have an unusual ability to express empathy(同情) ."
"The results have been surprising," says Schwartz. "It shows the importance of giving people a voice and really listening to them."
(以下A(易)、B(难)两种题型任选一种,前4个小题为A(易)题型,后4个小题为B(难)题型,做A种题型的不做B种,做B种题型的不做A种)
Some of what they said made me feel rather sad.