The First Time That I Made A Student Cry...

 This blog was started as a way for me to reflect on my teaching experience and how I can grow and not replicate the same mistakes.  One lesson that I will never forget is the first time that I made a student cry.

I was young, just started college, and was a substitute in a local classroom. I arrived at the middle school and checked in with the teacher's plan and was prepared for the day. There weren't any problems until the last class of the day. Unbeknownst to me, this class contained mostly low-achievement students. I followed the teacher's directions on how to get the class started and instructed them to read their assigned book aloud. 

In the back of the first row was a student who faltered over a few words, which his classmates corrected him for. After being corrected a couple of times, he finally put his head on his desk. I went back to check on him and found that he was crying. I instructed the students to read silently and dismissed him to go to the bathroom. 

"What have I done?" I thought to myself. "I've messed up big time." Later in one of my classes at TTU, the professor said that you should never make students read out loud. Now in my life, I have never asked anyone to read something aloud because you never know when reading may make them insecure. It was a huge lesson for me, and one that can't be erased from my psyche.