Hope in Palestine...

A student just came to my office and she is the third in five minutes to touch something deep inside me. It is the end of the semester and there is heavy disappointment in the air as students find that I was sadly serious at the beginning of the course when I warned that it would be a very hard class and the grades would be low. Many fail this infamously impossible course and are left severely depressed. Understandably. I handed back the last of the three major essays they write during the semester. It is worth 20% of their final grade and reflects three weeks of hard work at the end of a semester of intensive work. As I left the classroom of silent students staring at their scores, one boy walked in front of me and said, "Good. You gave me points in the good category. I am good. Good. It's the first time in one year I have this feeling. I am GOOD." I asked him if he was being sarcastic. He then exclaimed, "NO! I am good and I have waited and worked one year to hear this!" I stopped dead in my tracks. Several students near him also stopped. I said slowly, "There is something gravely wrong when a student says this. We are doing something insanely wrong if you say this after one year."

Next. Aya just left my office. As she opened the door, she turned and looked at me. She said that when she began the semester she thought to drop my class and leave the department. But she stayed. And she knows that she is stronger. In the beginning she could not write or speak well, and she knows now that she is better and she is determined to fight her way towards further improvement. I told her that I remember in the beginning of the semester seeing her and thinking how serious and sad she was. She seemed so scared to be there. But now in class she smiles and speaks out. It's amazing because her change is not limited to her writing but to her whole self. The last words were hers: "Really, I love you." And she left.

Then entered Nida. "I want to ask about my points..." I looked to her points--under 50%. Then I looked to her. "I know they are low," she said, "but I don't care. In the beginning of the semester you marked me unsatisfactory for every category on the grade sheet, but now I have two good categories! I worked so hard and I know I improved so much. I swear I don't care for the points, but just to know I improved. And I will do this course again next year and be even better!"

I find myself sitting here now, reflecting on these kids' ambition. Spectacular really. I told them in class how proud I am of their work. I told them I know I push and push and push. But they rise to meet my expectations EVERY TIME. "This is Palestine," someone whispered, "we're used to being pushed around." I smiled softly, "I know...but this is pushing to help you and look at how far you have all come! I swear I could not be more proud of you guys!"