12th grade thoughts on the State of the Union

After we finished watching I had the students write down their thoughts on the President's State of the Union address. I so enjoyed their responses that I thought I would share them with you

- I was surprised he didn't talk about the war first. It seemed like he just put it at the end cuz he had to.
- I noticed how the woman behind him seemed like she would support him on anything.
- He sounds good and smart and has the right attitude, but actions speak louder than words.
- I don't think he will do everything he says he is going to do and if he is he needs to hurry up.
- I think he blamed Bush for everything wrong today.
- I think he gonnna get done whatever he wants done whether people like it or not.
- He focused too much on health care.
- I think he needed to talk about the war more.
- Dis is the first State of the Union I've watched. I liked it.
- It seemed fake in a way because some of the things he said in the speech won't never happen.
- I thank him for trying to help out people like me who are trying to go to college.
- I thought that some things he said about the previous administration weren't right. For him just becoming President, he should be wanting to stay on good terms with the Republicans.
- I thought it was wrong for him to trash the Bush administration.
- I think Obama is a great talker, but not a good President.
- Too much standing and clapping.
- I wasn't convinced.
- He seems like he really wants to help the people. This made me change my view on him a little.

And that's just a random sample. I know my students hate whenever I give them an assignment like this that makes them reflect on anything and actually THINK (the horror!) not just copy or rewrite something. Since so many are reluctant to share, it has become my de facto method of formative assessment. In this instance, all I wanted to see was that they watched and listened to the speech and understood the main messages the President was trying to convey. They showed me, not only that they did, but that they also thought about the things he said (or didn't say). Honestly, it is getting back stuff like this that makes me love my job. Also, getting back test results like this:



Aside from the student who failed (who, I believe, has failed every test I've given her so far), I think I will check this unit off as a great success! The student who failed is one who has been a thorn in my side all year. My happiness level increased a great deal when I finally learned to accept that I wasn't going to reach every student. As soon as my coworkers helped me come to that conclusion, I was immensely happier. I realized I could push this student and do everything possible for her in the classroom, but if she isn't going to the work on her part (and the answers to her test indicate that she did ZERO outside preparation) there is nothing I can do. As for my other students, here's to hoping they don't let everything they learned about the Treaty of Versailles fall out of their heads by Monday 'cos we will go right into how it leads to World War II. I know what I have to get through next week. I just need to stick to my schedule and not let the students (or their awesome questions) distract me. I have five days to make sure the students understand (I won't say "cover" or "get through") what caused global depression in the '30s and the rise of Stalin, Hitler and Mussolini. In government, we begin to tackle the judicial branch, although a sudden push from administration to play the online stock market game might mean a sudden improv lesson in investments and the stock market in the middle of learning about the Supreme Court...let the fun begin....