Why is the students that need the most help and encouragement are the ones that always miss school?Aaarrgghhh!
A bright young man named Joe (a pseudonym) got moved from the 5th hour block into 1st hour. My CT's 3rd and 5th hour blocks were honors level classes. Joe is very quiet and keeps to himself but has not come to more than a handful of classes since he was moved out of honors Language Arts and Math. We heard that he was moving to another school but now, now that may not be the case. Whatever the situation something has changed since he was moved. He rarely participates and mainly just draws during class. I have noticed that he has not moved his journal from the 5th hour crate to the 1st hour one. I told my CT that and she had not noticed that. She was going to refer him to the school's counselor.
I can only imagine how this young man must feel. No one even talked with him about it that I know of, they just moved him. I am wondering what else I can do to help him. Today I tried to help him get caught up with the writing of his narrative to where the other students are but he is very resistant. He will engage only as long as you are right there with him. Once you leave he starts drawing. I really don't know what to do.
And I have noticed that it seems that the ones who need the most attention are the ones who have issues with being tardy or chronic absenteeism. When you ask them why they are late the answers they give you are sometimes heartbreaking, "My mom didn't wake up" or "I was up till 2am watching a movie and didn't wake up."
Back to Joe. I did get him to smile today. He was telling me about his story entitle "The Good Guy." I asked him if he was the good guy and he and said, "No, that is Eugene." I told him I bet he was a good guy just maybe not for his story and he smiled. All I can hope is that somehow he will start coming to class and that we can make him see that it is okay to be in the class he is in. Such a sweet and sensitive young man!
I feel you on this issue. I have a student who is gone a lot and he really needs to be in class. He has trouble completing make up homework, focusing and asking for help understanding. I want to help him so bad, but he brushes it off most of the time and I respect his wishes because I don't want to damage the relationship we have.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, another boy in class misses even more days and it doesn't seem to damage his grade as much. But he hates working in groups, dislikes sharing and is very reluctant to "join" or accept help. However he tests well and the work he turns in is excellent. (Sooo familiar, except for the participation...I have a big mouth)
What can we do? Particularly as pre-student and even student teachers. I know the statistics say ELA is much harder on teenage boys and they have a huge lack of interest. But these boys are not just ducking their English classes. How can we help them get to school? And then to make the best of the days they are here? Without infringing on their machismo or their feelings...
I have a student in my class who does very similar things. I'll lead him through questions, but if I'm not there, he won't answer them. We had a worksheet for a story we were reading, and he could answer half the worksheet with only having read the few pages we had done in read-aloud, but he wouldn't write them down unless I was standing right over his shoulder.
ReplyDeleteMs. Black, too true. Pre-student teaching really makes me feel like my hands are tied on a lot of issues. Yes, we can encourage, encourage, encourage, but at what point do we (or can we) say "DO YOUR WORK!" Philosophers in our ENGL 680 text might say that some of these things have to deal with "underlife" and student self-expression, but really, it appears we're shooting in the dark for a grasp of understanding what's really going on with students. Or, as it sometimes appears, just giving excuses.
In any case, we should all keep trying! Some weeks are just longer than others.
I have one just like that in my class. His problem however is that he is suspended too much to be at school. He thinks he has to be the alpha male and always has an attitude or fights. He is a brilliant student, and when worked with 1 on 1 he accomplishments are superior to the rest of the class. My one problem is he is never in class and when not be worked with 1 on 1 he is not doing anything. So I know exactly how you feel with wanting to reach them. I wish we could find some miracle thing to help all of our students succeed beyond what they believe they can do.
ReplyDeleteHi, Amy.
ReplyDeleteYou can encourage Joe to come class. Reassure him that you miss him when he's not there: "Joe! Where you were you yesterday? We missed you in class."
Like Molly said, when Joe does attend class, make the most of it. Surely, he will benefit from that. Work with him individually, if possible and necessary.
I hope this helps!
As you can see, this is a common problem. I like Sarah's idea- that we should express to students the importance of being in class and remind them that they are missed. Showing students what they missed while they were gone is a good idea; but, as Nathan mentioned, there are usually issues at home with students who are regularly tardy or absent. I can't help but think we need to make sure our classes are engaging. If their home-life is troublesome or they aren't being pushed to attend school, then what reason do they have to come to school. I know if I were given the option to stay home in middle school, I might have taken it. I wonder if it would help to give students some examples of success and failure stories that resulted from school attendance. This may not be possible as student teachers (or perhaps it is) but we could invite guest speakers, such as minorities, former ESL students, or victims of bullying to share their stories. Perhaps there are video clips or other resources to inspire students as well. I know some of the young adult literature addresses some of these issues but I am not aware of those that infuse the importance of education.
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