Friday, September 17, 2010

Dealing With A Kid I Can't Stand On Day 14.

I have a student who, no matter what I try with him, refuses to do any assignment that involves writing.  It's not that he is incapable of doing it, he just has absolutely no interest in putting forth any effort.  He is also extremely disruptive and when I say something like, "KidWhoHatesWriting, please stop talking, everyone needs to be paying attention."  He'll say, "I wasn't talking."  Even though I clearly just saw him talking to one of his buddies.  He is also the kid who is constantly making rude comments under his breath after you have asked him to get back on task.  No matter how hard I try, I cannot get myself to like this kid, and I feel really bad about it!  I have been trying my HARDEST to like this kid, but I just CAN'T!

So here is my New Teacher Tip of the Day:  You are not going to like all of your students.  It is just a fact of life, you can't like everyone.  But, for the sake of the student you can't stand, pretend that you do like them.  This will be an extremely difficult task, but trust me, it will make your life easier in the long run.  If a student knows that you do not like them, they will lose any sliver of respect they ever had for you.  However, if they think that you like them, they are more likely to respect your wishes; definitely not 100% of the time, but at least 60%!

1 comment:

  1. Miss Anonymous,
    I was just introduced to this blog today and felt I should post a comment. As a teacher for more than 20 years I found your thoughts both entertaining and inspiring. Your upbeat outlook towards teaching and your ability to always return your thoughts to what's best for your students is admirable. We all have those days where we question the value of what we do, the next time I feel like that I'll turn to this blog to help me remember what's truly important about our profession.

    Now, as the father of Miss Anonymous I wanted to say that I've always known you'd be a great teacher and the insightful and hysterical way you present the job has been fun to read. Keep up the great work and keep posting in the blog. Love, Father of Miss Anonymous

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