Which hole are you in now?

This weekend, I found somthing really interesting when I was reading a book titled The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. The book featured a poem titled "There's a Hole in My Sidewalk" by Portia Nelson. Read the poem below, and then answer the questions after it in your own blog:

I
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost...I am helpless.
It isn't my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.

II
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I am in the same place.
But, it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

III
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in. It's a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault. I get out immediately.

IV
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

V
I walk down another street.

QUESTIONS:
1) Do you think the author really fell into holes in the sidwalk? What do you think the "holes" in this poem are a methaphor for? What kinds of "holes" have you fallen into in your life?

2) When I first read this poem, I thought of what's happening to your grades. Some of you seem to be stuck in hole #2: your grades go down; you pretend you don't see it; you have "F"s again; you can't believe you're in the same place; you say it isn't your fault; it takes you forever to get out or you don't get out at all. Which hole are you in right now? Why do you think so?

3) In terms of your grades, what do you have to do to reach step V and not fall into the hole of letting your grades drop? If you have already reached step V, how did you get there; and what advice can you give to the students who are stilling falling into "holes"?