It’s weird. When I start developing a rapport with a student and have no visual, I create a mental avatar for him or her. I don’t mean it’s like a game figure or anything like that, but I somehow decide, “I think Shelby has brown hair that’s very straight and that she dresses in rock concert t-shirts.” Whether or not these mental images are true is something I usually don’t find out until they hand in their final portfolio and include a photo. Even then, seeing the students walking and talking at graduation is a revelation in itself.
I don’t even have those avatars. I have 155 students (whoa, it was 153 this morning) who are names on a page and little else. I’m hoping to start reading more into their personalities and see what happens from there. Right now, they’re a chain of paper dolls, strung together in my gradebook. I need some crayons so I can start drawing in some details.
No comments:
Post a Comment