Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Congratulating successful students
Today was the final lecture day for my class, and I started by asking my students if any of them were either graduating this semester or transferring in the fall to a four-year college. A few did, and I had them stand up and I and the rest of the class gave them a round of applause for their success. I think they appreciated the recognition.
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I was going to send the following to all faculty on campus but then decided starting another email conversation was not the best idea:
ReplyDeleteSUBJECT: A small celebration of student success
MESSAGE: During our final class meeting this morning I asked my students how many of them are graduating this semester or transferring to a four-year institution in the fall. A handful raised their hands, and I asked them to stand. I then asked the rest of the class to join me in giving them a round of applause in celebration.
I saw embarrassed pride in the eyes of those standing and what I hope was aspiration in the eyes of others. I told everyone that honoring the success of their classmates is worth doing, especially in a time when classes are harder to find and goals more difficult to achieve.
I do not know the meaning of “success” for all of my students, but I felt it necessary to share with them what it means to me. The small celebration we had in class today allowed me to do that.