good wins out

Last Friday we took most of our 6th graders to Lubbock to visit the Science Spectrum. We had a great time. We had set up criteria the students were to meet in order to go on the trip. We've been working on it all year. By the time the trip happened, we had almost 30 kids not go. Some of them were because parents weren't allowing them to go, but most of them were because they had not met the criteria. The kids that went were the ones that had worked hard, met the criteria, and deserved to go. It was great! They highly enjoyed themselves, and we enjoyed them! Monday morning as the four teachers sat sipping coffee in the lounge, we said that we realized that the good kids finally won. Some of these students have been together since Kinder and have always been trouble. Those of you that teach know that this is some weird phenomenon that occurs; some years it seems like the whole group is just off. But we were so thankful that we had decided to do the trip regardless of how many had to stay behind, because those that earned the trip really deserved it. and throughout the trip we heard the kids talking about it and how the ones left behind should have just obeyed and turned in work and followed the criteria. It was wonderful watching the students 'get it' that we cared and wanted to recognize those students who worked hard. There has even been a change since we've been back. They know they've 'won', whether they realize that's what they know or not. I can almost say that seeing that reward on their faces at the end of the day was worth some of the battles. It felt good to pump up kids that have had to battle the negativity all year.
Yeah!! Being good is GREAT!! :)