They’re just Puppies

All dogs wanted to be good dogs, no matter how unpromising they seemed. You just had to help them find a way. – The Old Man

There were frustrations when I returned to the classroom. Pesky persistent complainers. Foot draggers. Sleepers. Phone concealers. Make up concealers. C’mon, we’re in this together.

But then, after threatened and assigned detentions. After exhausted days. After hallway gripes. I realized, they’re just puppies.

People are just like puppies. Both have basic states of operation given their genetics, rules of physics, body chemistry and so on. Then, they both learn rules.

Puppies are taught not to pee in the house. Puppies are taught to walk on a leash. Puppies are taught to socialize. We don’t get mad at puppies for being puppies – we once had a puppy that only chewed up the right shoe. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Everything my students did was learned – successfully!

Complaining got results. Procrastination worked. Sleep was fine.

Life got a lot better when I thought about students as puppies.

Don’t Shoot the Dog! It takes time, persistence, and work to train puppies. Oh, and it’s fun. Puppies are happy to learn things and it feels good to teach them. Just like students. Just like all of us.

They’re just puppies.