Teaching at the high school level always makes me think of The Breakfast Club. It is so funny to me that from the very first day in a classroom you can get a fairly accurate idea of who is who. You can identify the "jocks," the "smart kids," and the "class clowns," but the first and easiest ones to identify are the behavior problems. This is not to say that these students will necessarily fit into only one of these categories, or that they will never move from one group to another. It does mean that by making these quick, admittedly stereotypical, divisions you can focus on the students who you know will need more academic help than others as well as those students who will have behavior problems.
My first week in the classroom I recognized a student as fitting into both of these groups. After reading a sample of his writing I assumed that he was an average student. His writing was not amazing, but was on par with most of the students in his class; however as I spent more time in the classroom I realized that his behavior was less than desirable. For example, when class work is assigned I often walk by his desk long after the assignment has been given and realize that his paper is completely blank. He is tardy almost everyday and always has some excuse for leaving the room during class. As if this were not bad enough, he often distracts those around him from their work as well. The worst part is that he seems to be almost completely apathetic. He could care less whether or not he passes an assignment.
One day when I asked him why he never did any work, he said that he can not comprehend anything he reads. While I believe him, I can't help but feel that a large part of his problem is his lack of effort. While there are many strategies that could help him better comprehend what he reads, none of them will help him if he does not employ them. Yet at the same time, is it all his fault. I believe the answer is no. When teacher after teacher gives up on a student's ability to learn, how can we expect that student to believe in his or her own ability to learn? That self fulfilling prophesy gets us every time.
The most frustrating part of this story is that this student is currently being tested for placement in special education classes. This student transferred into the district in the eighth grade. What does it say about our public school system that a student can get to the tenth grade and reside in two different school districts (both for fairly long periods of time) before someone realizes that they are struggling?
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