Students who won't accept responsibility
In my years of teaching both in the K-12 system and at the post-secondary system is that there seems to be a pervasive lack of responsibility on the part of the student. I try hard every day to have an open mind and shephard my students toward success but it is hard when you get a student who refuses to take responsibility not only for their own actions but also for their own learning.
Like everyone in the class I have hundreds if not thousands of stories about students who fail to see the value and importance in working hard and learning. I realize that much of this is due to personal frustrations they face everyday in their life such as: struggel to understand the content, money problems, learning difficulties and most prevently personal problems. Not only do I work to understand their learning needs but I work to understand their life situation. I have found this is the one of the main factors that will lead them to either failure or success.
I also keep in mind that with every negative story there are positive stories of students who have turned around, faced the hard facts and accepted responsibilty. Early on in my career I was told "You can't help every student, focus your energy on those that are more open to help." That is not to say you let the other students dangle on failure but sometimes giving students space can help them see the light. In addition, if a student has been difficult with me, but then comes around and asks for help, I never bring up the past. I am always very upbeat and positive with them and I feel success when they ask for the help.
Learning opportunities sometimes come at the most random time, it takes time and patience to know when one has arrived.
Hi Chad,
Good quotes and good use of them. Inspiration is a lot of what teaching is about. The students need to know they have your support and respect. Both of these will go a long way in keeping them engaged.
Gary
"Anything worth having will require hard work to acquire."
"Nothing worth achieving is going to be easy to achieve."
I keep those two quotes above my marker board. I've found that it does a good job of subtely motivating students, especially when they read those quotes over and over and over... It motivates them without my having to give long, impassioned speeches on a regular basis.
Hi Jan,
Good point. Education is earned. No one is entitled to a degree because they pay the tuition. They must work hard and acquired the required knowledge and skills. So when they stumble along the way they can learn from that and pick themselves up and get back into the flow of their education. These a life lessons that they must learn. As long as we have provided the support and instruction needed then we have fulfilled our part of the educational bargain.
Gary
I also have seen students leave school and come back with a whole new perspective and attitude. Sometimes we best serve the students by honoring their decision not to do what is required. They will face the consequences of their decisions and realize that they hold the power to move ahead toward their goals.
If the student is given the information, tools, and support to succeed, they need to take ownership of the responsiblity portion of the educational experience.
Hi Anthony,
By taking the approach you do you are setting the standard for the course. This then reduces any confusion about the consequences if you are consistent in your enforcement of the course's polices. After the first day it is a building process for your students as you have taken the mystery out of "What does he expect from us?"
Gary
I have found it best to clearly establish the expectations and accountability at the beginning of the course.On the first day of the course I explain exactly what is expected from them and what they acn expect from me if they do not comply I will tell them once aabout our discussion on the first day after that it is a no tolerance policy i find that seems towork the best as it gets out about not taking any crap
Thanks, Matthew, for your real-life teaching exmaple! As a fellow educator, let me say that I don't think it was harsh, but tough love. You certainly offered to help and the student had many opportunities along the way. It looks like he finally got the message.
As we all know, so many of our students have legitimate life issues going on and we professionally offer, within the parameters of our positions, to help when we can. But as your example references, there is a big difference between helping and accomodating. The workplace is far less forgiving than the classroom or lab and, if we mirror the work environment, we owe it to our students, in a supportive way, to help them balance life and education. I would have done exactly what you did.
Jay Hollowell
ED102 Guest Facilitator
Pre-story: I do not allow cell phone calls to be made in the classroom. There are a good group of my students who are older and have children, so my compromise is turn the cell phones on vibrate and if you HAVE to take the call, walk outside and do so. Just understand that I am not going to stop class or answer questions from you about the subject matter you missed while you were outside on your phone until after class.
Story: I have had a student who did not want to take the necessary means to pass my course. Basically he wanted everything handed to him. The problem was, he would rather take a call on his cell phone or text. He would get up and just leave class for 2 hours (of a 5 hour class) and then come back and finish out the class. Of course he failed the class.
Second time he came through, he failed again, same reasons. I talked to this student multiple times, through-out the course, about the importance of paying attention and being in class. He said he had outside personal issues that needed to be addressed. I told him if I could help, I would. Otherwise, he would need to go address the issues before re-enrolling because he is only hurting himself by not being here and paying attention. He thanked me but declined my help.
On his third and final try, I just made an announcement the first day of class telling everyone that if you need to constantly take or make calls/texts on your cell phone, then you need to go see admissions and drop out of the class. Go take care of whatever personal issues you may have and then come back and re-enroll. This is the hardest class you will have at the school so far. The class is not hard because I make it hard, it is hard because there is a lot of information and some of the content can be very challenging.
The said student finally stopped with most the cell phone calls and leaving during class. I am pleased to say that he passed the class. I could not figure a way to get through with him on how important it is to stay and listen, but I finally think he got the message.
Some people here may think my action was harsh and that is understandable if you never worked in the field of study that I teach in. Either way, it worked and the student above is on his way to graduating.
Dear Gary,
Great advice.
Thanks.
Jon.
Hi Jon,
There are a number of approaches that might work with such a student. One of the most successful I have found is to make the student a personal project of mine. This means I talk with the student and try to get to know where he/she is coming from and then I let them know how pleased I am with their work and that they are in the class. Next I ask them to do me a favor and have them do a "special" project for me so I can see even more of their work. Generally this personal attention gets them excited enough for them to apply themselves more in the class. They know I want them to be successful and they don't want to disappoint me.
Gary
Ann brings up a dilema that every instructor eventually will have to deal with. Her approach is novel in that she takes the time to understand or figure out the life situation which is often one of the culprits or main distraction or the student who lacks responsibility.
The fact that she does not give in easily and is willing to assist when approached after negative situations is to her credit.
What is the best way to handle a student that is smart, can do the work but still slacks off?
Hi Andrea,
You make a key point with your statement about not being a babysitter but being there when needed to give encouragement. Sometimes students have a hard time making the transition from being high school students to adult learners. They have to make this shift because they will soon be working in their field which requires that they problem solve and demonstrate leadership. They need to acquire these skills while in their program.
Gary
Reaching every student everyday is often a struggle.
If a student is given the information/tools for success on the first day of the course, we hope that they will follow through. In the case of technical schools, the students are often bogged down by other life challenges and it is up to the instructor to guide and assess daily the progress of each student, but not get caught up in the student's personal issues. There is a fine line between babysitting and guiding that some students can't decifer and will test the limit.
The instructor also has a job of remaining impartial.
Hi Marcia,
You have made several very good suggestions for how to handle students with these types of attitudes. By being clear and concise with your information they can see what the outcomes are and what they must do to be successful. If they don't then the consequences fall on their heads and it is their career that will be stalled. Often these types of students will leave school and then come back later with a whole different attitude since they have had some life experiences and they see how they need to assume responsibility for their own lives.
Gary
Hi James,
You make a good point about the road being long. Students find it easy to forget that nothing comes easy and that school is hard. They need to be reminded that they are making progress toward their future if they will invest time and effort now.
Gary
This is always a tough one. Yet as an instructor we are responsible for insuring the student meets the requirements of the class, learns what is expected. By clearly communicating the course requirements including grading criteria aids in this process as well as contining follow-up to insure the student understands the expectations as well as if special needs are being meet.
Identifying the needs and the motivation of the student(s)is key; if students are reluctant to take responsibility for the material, their priorities may be off. I have found, with students that I have had classes in the beginning of their academic career and toward the end; clearly defined rules and expectations will help student develop their personal skills of balancing work, school,life, etc. Sometimes the road can be a long one, and they will need a jump start time to time to remind them of the benefit of higher learning.
I agree with Ann, this is a constant issue that all teachers have to deal with. I have found it best to clearly establish the expectations and accountability at the beginning of the course.
Marcia
Hi Ann,
Thank you for sharing your perspective on working with diverse student populations. You have extensive experience that I know serves you well in the classroom. You are right about needing to be able to seeing a "teachable moment" and then seizing on it. Keep up the good work.
Gary
