inisght from a second grader.

Before I handed back the Unit 1 Math exams to my second graders, I talked told them how much respect I had for each and everyone of them. They were 7, 8, and 9 years old, and learning Math in a 2nd language. I told them that that alone was something to be extremely proud of, for not many people in the world can say they can listen, learn, work, and speak in a 2nd language.

I also told them that we are climbing up a mountain. We have to start somewhere, so its okay if your score isn't as high as you want it to be. We have to start somewhere. I told them that when they get their test back, they need to remember that everyone is different, and everyone gets different grades. I told them we don't laugh at our classmates and we dont' say mean things if they got a different grade than we did.

I asked my students how we should act if someone gets a different grade than us. Here are some of the responses...

"We can be happy if they got a good grade."
"If they got a lower grade, we can help them."
"We can be nice."

Then one girl raised her hand and said..

"Its okay if someone get's a lower grade, its not their fault, maybe they didn't get to go to Headstart.

For those who don't know, headstart is free Preschool for children on low socio economic status.

I was blown away.

Exactly.

Some students are behind because they didn't go to headstart like their peers. Everyone doesn't have the same resources.

A thought discussed by researchers, scholars, and educators around the world..and my second grader gets it at age 7.