The important thing is not to stop questioning - Albert Einstein

Every passing day brings me nearer to taking off the training wheels we call summer school in Holly Springs and sending me off all by myself to my high school in the Delta. Just like that kid who has no fear of riding his bike as long as he has the safety net of training wheels, I feel like every day I am gaining confidence as a teacher. However, I know that the day will come when those training wheels must come off (Dad! Training wheels aren't "cool" anymore! I don't want them and nobody else has them!). We've all been there, the first ride after the wheels come off, and do I really need to explain how it goes? I didn't think so, but I'm going to anyway. All is well for the first few yards, but then the rider starts to lose balance, and wobbles to the left, overcorrects and wobbles to the right, another overcorrection sends the rider careening off the sidewalk where he either bails, or sticks it out to the end. Either way, a bloody mess ensues. I feel confident right now, but eventually the wheels will come off. I will make sure to have my first aid kit handy.

With only six students in the summer school class, formal questioning strategies are hard to employ. It seems like randomly calling on students to answer questions puts more pressure on the students that normally would not answer in class because their number "comes up" more frequently than it would in a larger class. Dread sets in, and at least in my class it seems that it causes some of the students to freeze up. Despite the "Dread Factor," cold-calling has its benefits. I have seen that it keeps the kids awake, and almost all of them are paying attention almost all of the time. I like awake students. I care that my students are comfortable in class, but I will gladly sacrifice student comfort for student participation. Participation, even very basic, simple, and watered-down means learning is taking place. The benefits of cold-calling outweigh the pitfalls. No teaching strategy is foolproof. It will never be perfect, just deal with what you have and make it work the best you can.