Surgery

Yesterday my son had gum surgery. They needed to snip off part of the lower gums and graft it with some skin they took from the upper gums. He was a real trooper and did remarkambly well while the surgery was taking place.

After the surgery was often and we got home, he was uncomfortable. At night time it took him a long time to get to sleep but finally he did. Unfortunately, about an hour later, he woke up crying and screaming in pain and nothing seemed to comfort him. Eventually he cried himself back to sleep. When he woke up this morning, he was in much better spirits. He still had some discomfort but nothing like the pain he experienced last night. In the end, we fully believe the surgery will be successful and keep him from having severe gum and teeth problems as he gets older.

In a sense, I was thinking how students can go through a similar experience. When they first get up to speak, it can be scary but in the end most do better than they thought they would. Then they get my evaluation. While I try to take the students feelings into account, sometimes when you let students know where they can improve, when they get a lower grade than they expected or hoped for, it can be a “painful” experience. Hopefully, when it is all said and done, however, the student has become a better speaker and feels the experience was worthwhile.