I just spent the 2 longest hours of my life in my field placement. As soon as I got some place where I could sit down and reflect this is what I came up with. Please read and respond with your thoughts....
Dealing with the unmotivated, unchallenged student in your classroom…
An underlying lack of motivation may explain why many students are disengaged from classroom activities and fail to participate with their peers. Motivation is the presence of a personal drive that pushes us, as human beings, towards a goal. When school becomes an insignificant goal to a student there is a lack of motivation. Teachers can impact a student’s level of motivation by finding out the student’s interests and framing at least on aspect of a lesson plan around what the student likes. But what happens when the lesson plan that you based upon that student interests fails to appeal to them still?
I’m talking about the unchallenged student. The student in your classroom who has the potential to complete more challenging tasks, but chooses not to. Every once in a while, he/she “slips” and says something profound or does something that you can’t believe. But the other 99% of the time, this student sits in his/her chair and stares off into space, is completely oblivious to the fact that you just assigned something, sits in the math circle and looks straight through you. This student doesn’t care that you call on him/her to answer because they’ve already made up their mind that they’re not giving an answer. And don’t try to bribe him/her because he/she is one step ahead of you. This student is so smart that it frustrates you to no end that they won’t just participate and do the work that you assign.
Even though you hate the way it sounds, you admit that most of the time you let this student get away with being disengaged, reminding yourself of the other 26 students in your class and the education they deserve. You try and try and get nothing back in response. Wouldn’t it just be easier to give up? runs through your mind constantly, but you fight it because this is one of your kids, one of your students, and you just can’t give up. You feel like you’re running out of options.
You’re so sick of hearing “differentiated lessons” from people who have never worked with this particular student. You differentiate all of your lesson plans and you’re doing a great job with the other students in your classroom. It’s just this one kid…And you’re class isn’t the only classroom he/she acts this way. You hear the same thing from the drama teacher, the music teacher, the gym teacher, and even the lunch lady has concerns.
The month of February is coming to an end and you’re at a loss. What are you going to do?
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1 comment:
Wow! This is a tough case. I can understand your frustrations. I know you aren't a novice at differentiation or at creating behavior plans.
First and foremost, this kid is choosing to opt out. There has to be a reason he's making this choice.
He seems to be resisting you, even if he might be interested in the material. Do you think he is showing oppositional/defiant behavior?
http://jamesdauntchandler.tripod.com/ODD_CD/oddcdpamphlet.htm
Even if he isn't...there are some interesting approaches used with ODD that might be helpful in trying to reach this child.
Do you think the student is withdrawing from all social interaction? Could he be depressed or reacting to something at home? I know you've probably considered these options as well.
What do the teachers who work with him think about his behavior? Do you think it's easier to simply ignore him than to address the issues? He might be missing out on a lot and a candidate to slip through the cracks if this is the situation.
I will be interested to see what you find out.
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