A great many of my class journals follow a growth minded theme.  They are typically famous writers, authors, or people of the world that resonate.  In common core fashion, I have the students read the quote silently, and respond to it for 10 minutes in their written interactive journals.  The students are aware that other than spot checking the journals to ensure they are complete and meet the minimum length requirement of 1/2 page, I will not invade their privacy and read their private thoughts unless they request I do so.

The students often ask me to do the journals when they do them, and I happily comply because I enjoy writing.  The best part is that after they have me read mine, they are eager to share a few of their own.  Some of the students really see the depth and meaning behind the quotes.  Other times, I have to explain the quote a little beforehand because the students do not understand the meaning, context, or vocabulary.

This particular quote was pretty straightforward, although not very appreciated by the students.  The students expressed a vocal desire to remain “a kid” and that they are “not in a hurry” to grow up as previous generations.  I am not entirely sure how this happened.  Perhaps, previous generations wanted their children to have it easier than they did, and so we created a society that quite literally does not want to grow up.  I see freshmen fight it all the time.  It is almost as if they believe that if they fail in school it will slow down the process.  It breaks my heart sometimes, but having come from a difficult background myself, I grew up fast and learned early, if you want any success you have to go out and grab it.  You have to look after your future and goals.  Probably why I have spent most of my life either teaching in school, or going to school, or both.