The nickname Journal Wizard was given to me by a student my third year of teaching. This student was notorious for always getting whatever we were doing-folding, cutting, glueing, writing, etc. WRONG! Now "wrong" isn't something I would point out to him. Success in my classroom was extremely important to him. I would quietly walk over and show him how to troubleshoot his mistake and determine a new way to complete the journal page using his current materials.
Journal Policy: Student's have to make do with what they have. If they tear their notes or mess up, they have to make it work; that's my policy.
So, with this student, there was never a mistake that we couldn't fix. By the end of the year, the student became a master of troubleshooting journaling mistakes.
This year, I did run across a very challenging issue. The binding of a student's journal fell apart. How? She fiddled with it until it did. Little fart did it, denied it, and I watched it happen. Again, the policy is that we always make it work.
Challenge: Thread the cover and pages back together.
I found some hearty red thread and a strong needle (ended up going through three needles).
I started threading the pages and cover together keeping a loose connection.
When finished threading together, I pulled the cover tightly to the pages and tied it off.
I did have to push through the outside binding cover. Luckily, the student is a huge Red Raider fan and loves the stitching on the outside.
The entire process took me about two hours. Moral of the story for my students: We gotta make it work! (Trust me, they quote me on this.)
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