"The Waterfall"

After sluggish class participation on a reading activity, I paused and calmly stated to my class, "Don't think I can't see who the workers are in each group. As I stand in the front of this class or float around the room, I can see who is working, processing, and writing down responses they have personally generated. Those of you who are waiting on the 'thinkers' to write down their answer so you can copy them, I know you. I see you waiting 'busily' and patiently to reap the success of your classmates. I want to show you all what I discovered last night at a meeting at the high school. We had what is called a Vertical Alignment meeting. English teachers from 5th grade through 12th grade attended and shared information, strategies, and goals with each other so that we can better assist you in making the transition from grade to grade." I placed an AP literature response prompt on the ELMO. I read the difficult prompt aloud then looked around the room at the faces of my students. One girl broke the silence and said calmly, "I'm scared." I replied, "You should be. You should be concerned about the level of skill you need to be able to perform at this level. Some of you are working so hard, and I am extremely proud of you. Others of you are sitting back, allowing the hard working students to provide you with answers. I would like to share an analogy with you. Imagine the entire 8th grade student body as a river: moving, dynamic, full of life, twisting around curves, pouring over boulders, and finally, coursing over the edge of a cliff pushing its way to its ultimate goal-the sea. Those of you working hard are an active part of the river itself. It is not easy, and there are challenges. Finally, the river's triumphant dive over the cliff into the sea is met with pride and happiness at having accomplished your goal. Then... what do you see along the side of the river on the bank...kids reaching out with cups - stretching out over the riverbank as far as they can in an attempt to catch some of your water in their cups. They didn't tumble over boulders and push their way around the bends. They didn't produce life and sustain the student body along the way. They just want to reap the rewards at the end. They want to catch whatever 'extra' success they can from those who have worked hard and payed their dues. What kind of student are you? Do you want to push your way through and arrive at your goal with skills that will guarantee your success? Or do you want to arrive at your goal with a half empty cup, wondering, "What do I do now?" Believe that you are worth the trouble...dive in."