StuDent StOrieS

Alvin The Slow Genius!

    Alvin is a student in one of my classes.  He is not the smartest nor most outspoken in the class.  He's more the quit type who tries to blend in as much as he can so, he's never put on the spot.  He's shy when it comes to speaking English and prefers to observe the class instead of speaking.  He looks like Simon from Alvin and the Chipmunks with his black rim glasses and is more bashful than his cartoon namesake (at least in my class he is).  I even kid him about the cartoon Alvin and the Chipmunks.   Each day we do a reading assignment and I go around the room and ask each student to read and answer a question about the story.  A majority of the time when I get to Alvin he says "pass" or "I don't know the answer" and blushes.  I then ask the other students if they can help Alvin with the answer.  They normally show him the passage in the story where the answer is located or explain the question to him in Korean.  He then proceeds to answer the question.  
     Than one day, the Unthinkable happened!  I asked Alvin a question about the story we just read and with out help, or even pausing for a second he proudly answered the question Correctly!  "Way to go Alvin!" I said, as I gave him a high five!  The class began to clap and cheer for Alvin.  Then Billy yelled "Teacher! Alvin is a Slow Genius!!  He's a Genius! A Slow Genius!!"  I just smiled and said "yes."  I than gave Alvin two stars.  He was so excited!  By the end of the day the other teachers had already heard of Alvin's new name, the "Slow Genius!"