Dealing with Really Bad Students, part 1

Hello everyone,

There have been a lot of questions over the year about what to do with the extraordinarily bad students that periodically crop up in class. Some of my advice has been intended to be practical for first year teachers--do what you can.

What I want to talk about now (and maybe for the next few days) is what can be done besides simply sending the student out so everyone else can learn.

Embedded in all of this discussion must be the realization that there will just be some kids that you will never reach. Other teachers may reach them; maybe their parents will finally get through to them; some may respond to the help of a professional counselor; some may end up on the streets. You must not feel guilty for this; and you must not take it personally. Knowing that, we need to proceed on the assumption that you may be able to reach many. As you improve your management and your pedagogy, and as you gain experience, you will reach more each year.

Let's make a hypothetical situation. Let's suppose that you have one single student who manages to disrupt everything everyday. The student is loud; he has no respect for grades; no amount of sending him to the deans changes him; his language is foul; he has your number. Despite all this, the student is a regular attender.

What do you do first?

Do what you would do in academics: do a preliminary assessment.

What is the real problem? Is it academic? Does the student have a learning disability? Is the student unable to process certain information or the delivery of that information?

Is the problem personal? Has there been a recent disruption in the student's life? Are the parents divorcing? Is the girlfriend pregnant? Is there evidence of abuse?

Maybe there are medical problems. Does the student have a drug problem? Is there a sleep disorder? Hyperactivity? Does he need glasses? Is there a history of substance abuse in the family?

Of course, you can't just ask some of these questions directly of most students. In the truest sense, they are really none of your business. If you pry into personal things and ask personal questions that someone is not willing to answer, you will get the same reaction that you would give if someone did it to you.

Academics are your business, however, and it would be easy to assess academic problems. If you are an English teacher, and there is a dyslexic student in your class for whom you make no accommodations, you will likely bump into some problems from that student. Most of us would rather cause a disturbance than have our personal failing broadcast to everyone. (This does not mean that the dyslexic student should not be required to read and write; it just means that you can be more sensitive to tender feelings about difficult subjects.)

Check with the school nurse on medical problems. You may be allowed to know some things that might be helpful (some things are confidential).

Gross misbehavior in the classroom is usually a symptom of a gross cause. Don't just treat symptoms; treat the cause, and the symptoms will disappear.

We'll talk some more tomorrow.

Jeff Combe