When students say no     

“I’m Not Going to Do It”  Marlene Battelle

A bright blue sky and a soft warm breeze in the middle of winter offer hope that spring is on the way. Sometimes students need that metaphorical hint of spring to figure out that it is possible that they will succeed. Hope works wonders, and a teacher must offer students that hope. 

Working with academically at-risk middle school students presents some unique challenges. The environment needs to be interesting, warm, inviting, calm, positive, and without distractions. You must set clear rules and high expectations and assume that students can and will behave well and perform at a high level. A positive attitude is imperative, and the ability to not take things personally helps immeasurably. You must treat students with respect and make sure they know that you care for them. You must be able to sincerely show elation when they succeed and disappointment when they don’t. Establishing a relationship with each one of them helps you to be an effective teacher and is crucial to their success. 

The 8th grade boy who comes into class saying, “I’m not going to do it,” presents the teacher with an immediate problem. He intends to get a reaction, and preferably a strong one. A confrontation is in the making, and even though there are days when you would really like to accommodate that intent and just yell, “Yes, you are—now get busy!” that would not lead to a satisfactory conclusion for anyone. The key is to react quietly, calmly, and positively and not to take the defiance personally.

The best response depends on the student and your past history with the student. You have to know the student and also have spent some time reflecting and understanding your action/reaction/interaction pattern with this particular student. Is this a game that you go through nearly every day, for which you both know the unspoken rules? Is this an uncommon occurrence? Is there something else that is really the issue, and it isn’t the assignment at all?

In some cases, you can respond by ignoring the statement. Some students just have to test the teacher the moment they walk in the room, and if no reaction is forthcoming, they will drop the issue and go to work. If a student just becomes louder and more demanding of your attention, a response is necessary, and some time needs to be spent determining the cause of the defiance. Does he not understand the assignment itself? Does he feel like it is nothing but busywork? Did he have a bad experience in the last class period? Is there something else going on that is frustrating him?

Answer the student quietly and calmly with, “Yes, you are going to complete the assignment; maybe not right now, but you are.” This approach is only effective when you have actually established a relationship with the student and you realize that the student needs to go through this defiance stage and be given some control before he is willing to do the requested work.

You also have to know that the student understands and is capable of doing the assignment. You can then suggest that the student complete another assignment and then work on the original assignment, or, if necessary, say, “Work on this today instead and bring me the other one completed first thing tomorrow.” In most cases, the student will respond well to this. Give the student choices of what to do in a given time, but always have all the options be things you want the student to complete anyway. Two options work best, because sometimes more just lead to indecision and inertia on the student’s part.

Spend some time going through the reasons for the assignment and the reasons for the student to complete it. When the student finally gets to the stage of saying, “I don’t want to do it,” you have changed his focus from being obstinate to being more reasonable, and you can switch to understanding his unwillingness and sympathizing with him.

The best response is usually brief. Don’t talk the issue to death, because the student knows what he is doing and what is inappropriate about it. He’s probably already heard it a number of times. If the student knows you care about him, and if you have a good relationship with him, you can even get to the point where you can say, “You know the spiel, I don’t need to say it again; let’s just move on,” and he will do so.

Teachers always have a number of paths from which to choose, keeping in mind that you must treat each student as an individual. That hope of spring, understanding that working with difficult students is a work in progress, and a positive attitude will reap great benefits.

http://www.ascd.org/ascd_express/vol5/504_battelle.aspx

Any goal we have that diverts us even to the slightest degree from the central goal of being “approved to God” (2 Timothy 2:15) I must learn to relate everything to the primary goal, maintaining it without interruption. My worth to God publicly is measured by what I really am in my private life. Is my primary goal in life to please Him and to be acceptable to Him, or is it something less, no matter how lofty it may sound?