Judgement by: Jason Augustowski

Third quarter is a tough time for a lot of students.  I used to think (as a teacher) that second quarter would be everyone's most difficult grading period but it seems like the holidays propel students through.  Not that there isn't a fair amount of distractions during the months of November-January, but it just seems that if students are at least excited about Thanksgiving and winter breaks, they can power through the drudgery of the second quarter winter.  Third quarter, however, is the gauntlet that slowly chugs on (without rest) until spring break.  And it is this time of year, that I believe we as teachers must be most cautious since everyone is on edge.

And "everyone" includes more than just students.  "Everyone" is other teachers, administrators, parents - well, everyone!  Each year, third quarter is the time where it is easy to get testy, have short tempers, and potentially lose students and collegial friends.  All of the "major drama" I have in my life almost always coincides with the third quarter.  You're in the slump and you need a break.  HOWEVER, third quarter is also a magical time for the very same reasons.

Most of us spend the first semester truly getting to know our students and their abilities.  While quarter one is mostly used for this, quarter two (as mentioned before) is so full of distractions with the breaks that it can be hard to develop a perfect rhythm.  So in essence, quarter two becomes "How to stay awesome kids despite distractions."  And then quarter three hits and EVERYONE slumps.  Grades drop, attitudes drop, if you teach seniors FORGET IT, and like I said, everyone in the school gets kind of testy.  I start to notice minor bickering in the hall, jealousy, and a general sluggishness from the students.  Spring sports and spring arts save some of them and keep them engaged - but these activities can also serve to tire them out ever more and make them less academic (and more importantly) less warm in class.

BUT - there is still magic afoot!  Now that we properly know our students, we can spend quarter three REALLY digging in with them.  They know the class routines and traditions by this point.  They know what we expect and they know we have created an environment in which they can achieve - now for the hard work of really bringing it home before quarter four creeps in and starts getting the kids' minds on standardized tests and summer.  The way you "dig in" with your kids of course is 100% up to you, your style, and the environment/rapport you have already established, but with all of the negativity floating in the air, I believe we should all just keep something very simple in our minds in order to achieve this productive and engaging, "magical" quarter three:

It is really funny how we judge other people by their actions yet we judge ourselves on our intentions.  It is this disconnect that can easily lead to a lack of communication between parties.  We get so caught up in our own day, our own struggles, our own successes, that we fail to properly recognize those (good and bad) for the people around us.  We are all SO busy.  But are we being graceful?  It is a simple question to ask ourselves, but one I believe will do us a lot of good in the long run.

Everyone has a story.  Everyone has their stuff.  Everyone is going through their own "gauntlet day" - and we have to take the time to slow ours down and be an ear for those around us.  School is the strange microcosm where we throw all of this raw material into one place and say "go" - with surprisingly minimal supervision and hope everything turns out well (let alone with everyone's feelings still in tact).  So here are some big no-no's for quarter three (and all the time):

1.  If we hold strict due dates for kids, we better hold them for ourselves.  We have as much time to grade as they had to work - period.  No "write a paper tonight and I'll get it back to you in a month."  I don't care how busy we think we are.  So are they.  Remember: "gauntlet days."

2.  If kids can't eat or drink in our classrooms, neither can we.

3.  If kids phones should be off and away, so should ours.

4.  If we tell kids to act like adults we better be treating them as such.

5.  If we demand respect, we must first model respect.

And the rationale behind these rules is simply what I stated above.  I KNOW that when we take a while to turn a paper around it is not because we are malicious.  I know that we don't eat or use our phone in front of kids to be malicious.  I know that we don't engage in accidental hypocrisies to be malicious.  But neither do the kids.  Their work is late because they are busy.  They eat because they are hungry.  Their phones are out because they care about their life outside of school.  They seek to be respected and thought of as older than their age.  So let's just take a step back, breathe, and keep all of this in mind.

It is our job as educators to model the behaviors we expect of our students.  It is our job to teach them - not only our content, but to be good, kind, contributing members to society.  Let's make sure we are being that first - especially when we are working so close with so many impressional and emotionally volatile young ones each day.  Even when they are in high school, and may seem SO big, they are still children (and regardless of what they say, they still need us).  Let's wield that power for good and leave them with lessons that they too will pass on to future generations.  All it takes is open communication and an ability to see things from a student's, administrator's, parent's or colleague's lens.  We are all trying to do right by the students in our lives.  Sometimes in third quarter, when we are all on edge, when a break is nowhere in sight, it is easy to forget.  Let's smile and choose to be graceful.