(Before you read this, I want to say that I do a lot of generalizing about this group of students in this post. I am not trying to generalize all high school students, all urban students, all struggling students, and especially not all black/Latino students. I have noticed, however, several distinct patterns of behavior in two of my classes that worry me tremendously. I have so many amazing, talented students, but I have too many who are struggling with so many things, including my class. I just want to help as many students as I can.)
Hi all. I am a college senior who is completing her student teaching this semester. I am teaching English in an urban(-ish) high school.
I have one junior English class, three junior honors classes, and two sophomore English lab classes. The English lab classes are taught in conjunction with their regular sophomore English class and are only taken by struggling students. The curriculum isn't fixed-- teachers get to decide what and how we teach as long as we focus and assess on a few set subjects (reading comprehension, using context clues, writing a 5-paragraph essay, etc.).
I have lab classes, both of 17 students. We usually have 12-15 students present in both classes. Fridays we have 9-12. We have a lot of tardies. Over 95% are on free/reduced lunch. Over 80% of my lab students have IEPs. Both classes are about 2/3 black and 1/3 white and Latino. Gender ratios in the classes are roughly 50/50.
About half of my students in each class will come everyday and do their work. Some of them will be kind and courteous, others will be absolutely silent or actively speak out against me, but do their work.
The other half... I worry about. They come in late or not at all. There are regular suspensions/ suspension pending expulsions. Each student of this generalized half has their own patterns of behavior and misbehavior, obviously. But in general, these students:
-have their phones out as often as possible (Looks like: coming in on their phones, not putting them away unless I individually tell them to, take phones out immediately after they feel that they finish their work)
-refuse to put their phones away (Looks like: keeping their phones out when I told them to put them away, refusing to hand their phones over to me, attempting to go into my desk to take their phones back)
-keep their headphones in or on all the time (Looks like: having their headphones in their ears all the time, or hanging over their ears from the back, even when they're not listening to music or I have taken their device)
-refuse to do work (Looks like: refusing to begin work unless asked and sometimes beginning when I ask, refusing to do work after I ask, ripping up worksheets or packets, throwing away worksheets or packets, ripping pages out of textbooks.)
-become defensive about their refusal to do work (Looks/sounds like: "Miss, I have until the end of class to finish! I have 20 minutes, I'll get it done!"; doing absolutely nothing and then saying "I'm working.")
-attempt to distract others and prevent others from doing work (Looks/ sounds like: "Are you really doing this fucking worksheet?"; "Why are you wasting your time?"; distracting others by talking when they attempt to do work.)
-disrupt class (Looks like: shouting out, throwing things, talking incessantly, asking "Why do we have to do this?"; getting up and moving seats halfway through class).
-put their heads down and sleep (Looks like: putting their head down)
-do very poor work (Looks like: one-two word answers, incomplete worksheets, VERY poor spelling and grammar, not doing work, turning in worksheets with only doodles)
-either never, ever speak to me or speak charmingly and excessively (Looks like: never responding to anything I or another teacher says, refusing to make eye contact with me, and only talking to fellow students, OR coming in everyday and saying hello, asking for hugs, asking for candy, telling me about their lives in way too much detail, asking about my life in way too much detail, asking inappropriate questions in the middle of class, "Alright, there's eight questions on the paragraphs, due at the end of the period. Let me know if you need any help. Are there any questions right now?" "Miss, have you ever seen a dead squirrel?")
-mutter under their breath and bicker with each other (Looks like: muttering under their breath with words that are too quiet for me to hear but include other students' names and swear words.)
-insult and threaten each other (Sounds like: "Not my fault that fat-ass bitch ain't have a pencil,"; "Hey [student with Alopecia], what kind of shampoo you use?"; "Fight me. Fucking fight me. Come over here and fight me,"; "I see your ugly-ass car, I'll see your beat ass after school."
-swear openly in front of me
-talk about drinking and drugs (mostly just marijuana and pills) openly in front of me (Sounds like: "She high as fuck," "Fumas moto hoy?", "What are you doing this weekend,[student]?" "Getting drunk."
-talk about gang activity openly in front of me (Sounds like: "I swear on [gang name] I turned that in,"; "Don't fuck with [local gang]." Looks like: making gang sings, miming gun shots with fingers, pencils, etc.)
-talk about sex and sexualize/objectivize other students openly in front of me (Sounds like: "She's loose as fuck,"; "Back that up over my desk, girl," "Puta,"; "He over 6 foot, that dick over 6 inch.")
-talk about fights and threaten other students openly in front of me (Sounds like: ""I'll fuck her up,"; "Two lightskin girls went pyscho on him at lunch,")
-talk about teachers/ administrators/ the school and make threats openly in front of me (Sounds like: "Miss, I'll beat your ass,"; "[Teacher] better not fail me, I know where he lives,"; "Lo matare."
I treat them all with respect. I treat each day like the new dawn it is. I give three clear warnings. I pull them into the hallway to cool down. I pull them out in the hallway to explain why the behavior is unacceptable. I ask if they need help; I ask if they have specific questions; I set a timer and circle the classroom every 10 minutes and ask individually they need help. I compliment their good work. I tell them when I know they can do better. I let them hug me.
I end up sending too many them out of class too often. I cannot let them disrupt the half of students who actually trying to learn or even the ones who are being less disruptive today. I cannot let them insult one another or my fellow teachers. I cannot allow my other students to feel unsafe-- and they DO feel unsafe. I have frequent complaints from my other students about the classroom environment.
I try as hard as I can to keep every one of my students in the classroom and getting their education. But I can't let them do these things. When prevention, BPISes, RtIs, kind and supportive interventions, and warnings don't work, I send them to the office. When I send them out, they are punished for their disruptive/ disrespectful behavior. When they are punished, they are angry with me, they act out more, I send them out again, they are more severely punished...
Some of these students do illegal drugs. Some of these students drive inebriated. Some of these students commit assault or threaten assault. They break school rules and they break laws.
I don't want them out of class. I don't want them to be suspended. I don't want them to be expelled. I don't want them in juvie. I don't want them on the school-to-prison pipeline. I don't want to continue the cycle of poverty. I don't want them thrown out and thrown out and thrown out and thrown out. I don't want them facing legal action for the things they say. I don't want to be that teacher who just sends the troublemakers out. I don't want to ruin their lives.
I don't know. I'm both venting and asking for advice, I guess. My cooperating teacher is great but he has had a family emergency recently and hasn't been in this week. I've been okay with out him, but I wanted to talk about this before the emergency and I haven't had a chance.
Are there any teachers who've had similar situations and have productive advice? Are there any professionals or researchers who know the system well and can give advice? I don't want some of my students kicked out and on the pipeline... but I can't let them disturb class and disrespect my other students.
Submitted March 04, 2017 at 06:19PM by theodore_boozevelt http://ift.tt/2mEJYiI
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