For Words from Parents and Dragonflies Wednesday I will be sharing information about teachers who impacted the lives of students.
As a teacher you may have an idea of what life is like for your students but you probably have no idea what is really happening in their private life.
The student may be performing poorly for a variety of reasons without your knowledge.
As a teacher you really don't know exactly what the student is dealing with outside of your classroom, especially if the student appears to have a "perfect" home environment. If you assume that a student is NOT participating or studying because they are LAZY you are wrong. Students avoid the work for a reason- it's hard, they are overwhelmed, they have more pressing things on their minds, they don't see the value in academic work, or they are experiencing so much shame trying hide what is really happening in their lives.
The list above are just some of the reasons why students may not be performing up to their potential in school. Most of the time it takes just one teacher to make a positive impact on the life of a student. This one teacher can help the student know they are valued and worth saving. This teacher can see beyond the bad grades and poor performances and make sure the student does not fail. Here is a clip from one of my favorite movies: Freedom Writers that shows what it would be like to have a teacher care. Think how this interaction from one teacher could change the life of a student no matter what they were dealing with in his/her personal life. I pray we have more teachers like this and less teachers who shame, blame, and assume a student is LAZY!
As a teacher you may have an idea of what life is like for your students but you probably have no idea what is really happening in their private life.
The student may be performing poorly for a variety of reasons without your knowledge.
- The student may have a learning disability which makes learning VERY hard and therefore they may avoid all types of academic work.
- The student may have an addiction to drugs and/or alcohol because they got caught up with the wrong group of kids.
- The student may have one or both parents addicted to drugs and/or alcohol.
- The student may come from a family that is on the verge of bankruptcy or eviction and therefore the student may have to work long hours on just has to live with the stress of never having enough money.
- The student may be living in a physically, sexually, and/or emotionally abusive environment.
- The student may have a family member that is sick (cancer, depression, MS...).
As a teacher you really don't know exactly what the student is dealing with outside of your classroom, especially if the student appears to have a "perfect" home environment. If you assume that a student is NOT participating or studying because they are LAZY you are wrong. Students avoid the work for a reason- it's hard, they are overwhelmed, they have more pressing things on their minds, they don't see the value in academic work, or they are experiencing so much shame trying hide what is really happening in their lives.
The list above are just some of the reasons why students may not be performing up to their potential in school. Most of the time it takes just one teacher to make a positive impact on the life of a student. This one teacher can help the student know they are valued and worth saving. This teacher can see beyond the bad grades and poor performances and make sure the student does not fail. Here is a clip from one of my favorite movies: Freedom Writers that shows what it would be like to have a teacher care. Think how this interaction from one teacher could change the life of a student no matter what they were dealing with in his/her personal life. I pray we have more teachers like this and less teachers who shame, blame, and assume a student is LAZY!
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