CanadianTeacher
Groupie
I thought making a new thread would be easier than sifting through, looking for a situation just like mine, so here goes...
I teach intermediate. I have this student whom I'm having so much trouble figuring out and it's driving me crazy. This student hates school and has had more negative experiences with school than positive. From day one, in September, I was initiated to the questioning of everything, the negativity and the complete resistance to anything new or different from the norm. Yet, interestingly enough, this student is a very likable kid...one on one--above average in verbal and conversation skills, very witty, very polite and cooperative...one on one. However, when it comes to times when the rest of the class is around, things are completely different - getting up, walking around, speaking without raising hand, making noises, talking to others, not doing work. This student has trouble mixing with the rest of the class socially, and the math skills are very low. From what I see, I believe that there are some confidence issues, but what is shown is the complete opposite, probably to hide the feelings of social and academic inadequacy. The home situation is good, but parents are very busy and work many hours, so there isn't much guidance there. However, it seems to be a loving family. I struggle with this student daily because the behaviour disrupts the classroom atmosphere. I have gone out of my way to give extra help during class and at recess and I have tried to approach things in as positive a way as possible so as to maybe change this child's perception of school being a negative place. For this reason, I've tried to avoid too much negative consequences and instead focussed on extra help, reasoning with him verbally and building a connection in order to gain cooperation. Despite my efforts to help him help himself, he can't seem to figure out how to succeed in the classroom. This kid seems to get it, when I talk to him about how his behaviour is affecting both himself and the class, but can't seem to accept the support I'm giving and continues to 'shoot self in the foot' with the behaviour, which is taking up so much of my energy. Despite hating school and teachers, he seems to insist on hanging around in my classroom with me at recess instead of going out (which started gradually with extra help sessions and then he just kept staying in), and if I'm not in my class, he'll actually roam the halls looking for me. This I don't really mind because it's the only time I'm not telling him to stop this, get to work, etc..., so it's at least a positive to counter the struggles with him in class, but if I'm always nagging him in class, you would think he'd just want to get away from me. How can I get him to want to cooperate with me in class as much as he seems to want to hang around me between classes? The parents don't seem to have much time to stay on top of him and he has a lot of responsibilities at home, so I may get verbal support from them, but not much more. I hesitate to turn things negative by sending him to the principal and giving him yet another reason to hate teachers and school (having trouble academically is bad enough). Thirteen years old is such a pivotal year, and I really want to make a difference for this kid before he reaches high school, I'm just not sure how anymore. Any suggestions?
I teach intermediate. I have this student whom I'm having so much trouble figuring out and it's driving me crazy. This student hates school and has had more negative experiences with school than positive. From day one, in September, I was initiated to the questioning of everything, the negativity and the complete resistance to anything new or different from the norm. Yet, interestingly enough, this student is a very likable kid...one on one--above average in verbal and conversation skills, very witty, very polite and cooperative...one on one. However, when it comes to times when the rest of the class is around, things are completely different - getting up, walking around, speaking without raising hand, making noises, talking to others, not doing work. This student has trouble mixing with the rest of the class socially, and the math skills are very low. From what I see, I believe that there are some confidence issues, but what is shown is the complete opposite, probably to hide the feelings of social and academic inadequacy. The home situation is good, but parents are very busy and work many hours, so there isn't much guidance there. However, it seems to be a loving family. I struggle with this student daily because the behaviour disrupts the classroom atmosphere. I have gone out of my way to give extra help during class and at recess and I have tried to approach things in as positive a way as possible so as to maybe change this child's perception of school being a negative place. For this reason, I've tried to avoid too much negative consequences and instead focussed on extra help, reasoning with him verbally and building a connection in order to gain cooperation. Despite my efforts to help him help himself, he can't seem to figure out how to succeed in the classroom. This kid seems to get it, when I talk to him about how his behaviour is affecting both himself and the class, but can't seem to accept the support I'm giving and continues to 'shoot self in the foot' with the behaviour, which is taking up so much of my energy. Despite hating school and teachers, he seems to insist on hanging around in my classroom with me at recess instead of going out (which started gradually with extra help sessions and then he just kept staying in), and if I'm not in my class, he'll actually roam the halls looking for me. This I don't really mind because it's the only time I'm not telling him to stop this, get to work, etc..., so it's at least a positive to counter the struggles with him in class, but if I'm always nagging him in class, you would think he'd just want to get away from me. How can I get him to want to cooperate with me in class as much as he seems to want to hang around me between classes? The parents don't seem to have much time to stay on top of him and he has a lot of responsibilities at home, so I may get verbal support from them, but not much more. I hesitate to turn things negative by sending him to the principal and giving him yet another reason to hate teachers and school (having trouble academically is bad enough). Thirteen years old is such a pivotal year, and I really want to make a difference for this kid before he reaches high school, I'm just not sure how anymore. Any suggestions?
I knew I wasn't looking at all the angles. It honestly never occurred to me to tie the two together like that. I was racking my brain trying to figure out what to do different IN class, and just trying to figure out why a 13 year old boy whom I struggle with daily during class would want hang out with me in my class rather than go outside and play sports, but never thought to use one situation to counter the other. Thank you, Upsadaisy! 