Thought for the Weekend

This post is NOT for homework - it's for us to reflect together.
I recently read a story that I wanted to share with you guys:

There was a blind man, sitting on the steps of a building with his hat in front of him and a sign that said, "I'm blind, please help me." A woman walked by and stopped to observe for a few minutes. She noticed that most people ignored the blind man and saw that he had very little money in his hat. She dropped a few dollars in his collection and asked him if she could fix his sign for him. After he agreed she changed the sign, placed it back beside him, and went to work. Later that day the woman passed by the blind man again to see how he was doing. She noticed that his hat was stuffed full of money! When he heard her approach he asked her, "What does my sign say now?! I have never been offered so much help before!" She replied, "I did not write anything that wasn't true." The sign now said: Today is the first day of Spring, and I can not see it.

The point of this story is simply this:
If you do things the way you have always done,
You will get what you have always gotten.

For some reason when I heard this story it made me think of you guys and our approach to school. This year I have been working hard to make sure that I am helping you as much as I can. I have put your homework online because I know a lot of you like being on the computer and typing more than reading and writing on paper. I have created a class twitter so that I can remind you about assignments and so that you can easily ask me questions about them. I have graded test BCRs as extra credit to boost your test scores, I counted your review sheets as extra credit to boost your vocab quiz scores, I have included simple book checks to increase your test averages, and I have created extra credit assignments that can be completed and turned in any time you want. On top of all that, for every single assignment that we have done in class this year I have allowed you to take it home to finish and turn in the next class period. I am trying hard to adjust grades and change methods to find a way to help you all succeed.

Next week I am supposed to meet with Mr. Adams and explain to him why so many of my students have Ds and Es.

I need those of you with Ds and Es to reflect for a minute. Are you the blind man who has been putting out the same sign every single day, day after day, and hoping that people will all of a sudden stop and notice you? Maybe it is time to think about changing your habbits, get a new sign, and start earning the grades that you can be proud of.

If anyone has any ideas, suggestions, or tips for fellow classmates on how to make those As,Bs, and even Cs please feel free to post them. You never know what may work for one person could also be heloful to another! If you currently have a D or an E, why don't you share something that you know you could change to help yourself make that jump up to an A,B, or C.

Remember:
If you do things the way you have always done,
You will get what you have always gotten.