In my last post, I stated that teachers shouldn’t waste precious energy and time on students who don’t care and choose not to put any effort into their learning. This is a very controversial statement, as all students should be supported and encouraged. This is why I followed up my statements with the understanding that teachers should provide support and encouragement to ALL students regardless of their choices in class. However, if the student doesn’t care to try, the teacher shouldn’t put in the effort to try and get the student to work. This is a waste of time and energy that has been taken away from the students who are wanting to learn, who want to become better, and who want to take responsibility for their future.
So the question remains, how do you deal with the apathetic student who doesn’t care and avoids work? We need to remember that there is an underlying issue for why students are choosing to be apathetic. One reason for student apathy is the work may be too difficult for them, and they can’t do the work. Another reason may be they are disinterested in what they are learning and don’t care to engage. There is a possibility that the student doesn’t care about learning, finds no value in school, and finds it a waste of time and energy. And then there is the chance that students are dealing with situations outside of school, and these situations have taken priority in the students mind.
Ultimately, there are many reasons for why students do not engage or choose not to work, and on top of teaching content standards, managing student behavior, and many other unwritten expectations of teachers, they must also try and figure out why their student is disengaged and not wanting to care about their work, their grades, and their academic progress. This is not a one conversation and done activity. Teachers must first start by building relationships with students, show students that they care and can be trusted, and then start having more personal, one-on-one conversations with these students. It is a process, and this process takes time. What’s even more difficult is that the longer the process takes, the farther behind the student gets and the more energy is exerted from the teacher toward the apathetic student, which alienates the rest of the class.
There must be a balance between pushing students to engage in work and allowing students to make choices that will negatively affect their academics and learning. As I stated in my last post, a student will not change unless they buy into the need for change. Many times, this comes later in life, and sometimes, it doesn’t come at all. A teacher needs to understand that they will NOT win every student in their classroom. Each class will have students who do not care, aren’t willing to try, and have not bought into the need for change. It is not the responsibility of the teacher to make all students work. It is not the responsibility of the teacher to force students to do what they don’t want to do. The only responsibility a teacher has to their students is to teach content, provide a safe environment for learning and challenging ideas, give thoughtful, encouraging feedback to students, and provide support and help to struggling students.
Now here you might say, “Aha! See, you have to give support and help to struggling students.” This doesn’t mean you waste time pushing students to do work they inevitably don’t want to do or won’t do. This means you talk with them, challenge their thinking, provide reasons for why they should do their work and assignments, explain the benefits in doing the work, and ultimately, leave it at that. If the student refuses to do the work, move on. There are other students who need your attention and value their learning. You won’t win them all.
“So, you’re saying you should give up on students?” Absolutely not. I’m saying stop investing priceless energy into someone who doesn’t value your time and energy. It is the teachers responsibility to provide opportunities for students to choose success. It’s the students choice to take the opportunities afforded them to be successful. It doesn’t mean you act like they are not in your room. It means you let them fail. It means you allow them to suffer the consequences of their choices. It means you give tough love. You still care about the student and want good things for them, but it is their choice on whether they earn or attain those good things.
You won’t win every student that comes into your classroom, but you can be a voice of reason; challenging their apathy and unwillingness to grow or change. You can be the example of what success looks like, feels like, and sounds like. However, you must also detach yourself from the students’ choices and allow them to suffer the consequences of their choices. After all, isn’t that what learning looks like?
Welcome To The Classroom 