Success depends on the second letter

Due to students self-isolating, we have had small rolls this week. On Friday morning, two of my learners walked in and verbalised that they were not in the best frame of mind to commit to their learning. One of my learners had been upset in their previous class and the other said he was too dumb to do maths. After a general chat to both, I realised that a motivational talk would not cut it, so I wrote the word SUCCESS on my board and said "Success depends on the second letter" One of my learners got it immediatley while the other needed more time to digest it. It seemed to work a treat as both produced work to a high standard. My take away is that transferring responsibility onto learners usually ends with the desired outcome as smart students make smart choices - have a fabulous Friday