What do you do when there’s one student who refuses to pay attention in class? You know what I'm talking about: every other student is thoughtfully engaged, but this one has his/her head down on the desk with no supplies in plain sight. This student is the one who never (I mean never!) has any notebook paper or a pen. When he/she finally pilfers some supplies from the student next to him/her, this student doesn’t do anything with it anyway. During a lesson, all other students diligently work on their group discussion questions, but not Billy. Well, in my case it’s Billy. For you it may be Frank or Sally, but you know who Billy is all the same.
As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, I’m working with a sophomore level Honors English class. My experience with these students has been very pleasant so far. And then there was Billy. I can tell that Billy is an extremely intelligent young man, but, as mentioned, Billy refuses to do his assignments most of the time and when he actually decides that he has enough time to work on something, he argues with me about the questions he doesn’t like.
What does a pre-student teacher do in this case? How do I handle a single student who refuses to participate while managing the rest of the class? Can we make students to do their assignments? These are the questions of someone new to the world of education: the questions of a pre-student teacher.
According to Charlotte Wellen, a high school teacher from Charlottesville, Virginia, teachers cannot make students complete their assignments. Fear not though. Wellen does offer an explanation: the school as a community must help "him [the student who refuses to do any work] come to realize that he wants to do the work because he wants to graduate and the work is the way to get there" (Wellen). This sounds good, but I realize it’s easy to read it in an article and difficult to implement in a classroom. I believe it will be even more difficult in this case because I’m not the "real" teacher in Billy’s eyes. Nonetheless, I will help Billy become more engaged in his work by helping him understand the benefits and success he will reap if he does complete his assignments:
Step 1: I will get to know Billy better.
Step 2: I will no longer allow Billy to sleep or do nothing in class.
Step 3: I will learn what Billy likes and doesn’t like about school and classes.
Step 4: I will use something he likes to help him focus and become interested in an assignment.
Step 5: I will begin to monitor Billy more frequently during work times to ensure that he is staying on task.
Step 6: I will continually reiterate to Billy that his performance now affects his success in the future.
These are a rough draft of steps I have developed to help Billy. I will get rid of and/or add on to them as necessary. It is my hope that Billy’s case helps me fine tune the way I deal with unengaged students and help them become fully engaged in their assignments, classrooms, and futures.
I could use some help with my steps -- please critique, complete, or share your own ideas!
*The student’s name has been replaced with a pseudonym in order to protect his privacy.
Works Cited
Wellen, Charlotte. "Getting Students To Complete Their Work." National Education Association. Web. 3 Oct. 2011. <http://www.nea.org/tools/15816.htm>
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ReplyDeleteI also have a "Billy" in the class where I am pre-student teaching, and I wrote about him as well in my reflection. It is quite frustrating when you see that a student has amazing potential, but refuses to use it. I think your steps are great and if you accomplish each of them, then "Billy" will become more motivated to learn. The following are things I have said/asked when I have come across similar situations:
ReplyDelete1) Let them know the consequences of their actions. "If you don't do this, you'll get an F, and that will bring your grade down and you will have to re-take the class. You don't want that, right?" Or something along those lines.
2)Ask: "Is there anything I can do to help you? What, in particular, about the lesson/activity don't you like? What can I do to make it more exciting?" These help the student have a voice, and high schoolers LOVE to voice their opinions. Asking these types of questions have helped me reach students in the past.