Robert Frost and Boppy.

Here's a photo I took of Andrea in the National Gallery. No flash. Life with no flash is a beautiful life. At least when you hold still. Otherwise, life with no flush is just blurry. When I was talking about my BFF, I described her as "boppy." Tara asked for clarification, but boppy was hard to define. Let's see if it makes more sense in this context.


Some of my 8th graders need to be a little more boppy. In English, we're working on Robert Frost essays. We asked students to write about a time they took a "road less traveled." They're mostly writing about how they chose to not lie, cheat or steal. A couple of them were brave enough to talk about a tough issue like drugs and saying no. A couple of them were dumb enough to talk about a tough issue like alcohol and saying yes. Sigh. 8th graders.

And then I had two kids who said with 100% certainty that they just couldn't do it. "I can't. It's too hard." I don't know who taught them this phrase, but I would like to write them this letter.

Dear Adult,

The student you are working with is bright and talented in his own way. Please encourage him to try things. If he says, "I can't!" encourage him over and over again that he can. Don't do it for him. Learning helplessness is the worst thing that could happen to this kid, so help him help himself.

Gratefully,
Miss Luhrs

Boppy. Resilient. Willing to try give it another go with a skip and a smile.

This story does have a happy ending. One of the students wrote a great big paragraph in the hallway because he couldn't focus in the classroom. Another stopped saying "I can't," long enough to write this gem.

One time I chose not to write a paper that everyone else wrote. As a result, I will probably get a B, D or F. I would make this choice again.

He wrote a few more paragraphs, but you get the idea. BOPPY. He handed it to me with a skip and a smile.