How do I make them care? Part 2: Teaching them to care.

Whether they will not stop talking while you are talking, or they just don’t seem to care, sometimes it feels like teaching is an uphill battle. I am not an expert at behavior management, but I have learned a few things over the years. The suggestions below will help you teach students to care about their learning. Click here to read Part 2 which provides suggestions for “turning the boat around.”

1. Raise your expectations by communicating your expectations- This is tough. Teachers are constantly bummed by the lack of effort in the classroom. Missing homework assignments, lost materials, incomplete projects, chronic absences, falling asleep, incessant excuses, and more all contribute to the gaps that we see in education. I was absolutely shocked to find that most teachers have accepted these habits as the norm. Instead of saying anything to a student who didn’t turn in work for a week, I have witnessed teachers silently enter 0’s without a peep. How can a student know that they are doing something wrong if no one ever tells them? We do not know what homes these students are coming from. Some of them may never have heard that homework is important. If a student does not come to my class prepared, we talk about it. I don’t yell. I talk to them like they are people. And I don’t joke about it. I don’t need to be a cool teacher. I need to be a genuine teacher. And kids really appreciate that. 

2. Set boundaries and YOU uphold them- If a student sasses me, there are consequences. If a student mistreats another student, there are consequences. And these consequences take place in MY classroom. I don’t call another teacher. I don’t email the principal. These are MY students who had an issue in MY classroom. Sometimes we need to look to others for support and suggestions, but at the end of the day it is my responsibility to make it work. We need to figure it out or we will never move forward. Another popular trend brought on by the automated online behavioral systems is silent discipline. Unfortunately, this isn't really discipline. This is a scape-goat tattle-tail sort of situation in which a teacher enters a negative behavior report into an online portal which goes to administrators and parents but NEVER EVEN ADDRESSES THE STUDENT! What?! This means that principals and parents are questioning students about behaviors that were never even MENTIONED in the classroom! What?! If you see something… say something! Figure out a manageable system with logical rewards and consequences. The consequences should fit the behavior. For example, if a student spills something… they… need… to… clean… it… up! You might think that this is obvious, but this is the type of silent discipline that goes into the portal every day! Discipline involves actively coaching and teaching so that change can occur. We need to speak up and teach more than the content. 

3. Don’t offer grace without providing accountability first- I often hear teachers say something along the lines of, “Oh for my sake, I will just exempt them from the assignment” or “Ok, I will extend grace in this situation but next time you have five days to do a project you need to turn in something.” Grace is often used as another scape goat to pass a student along but once again it is missing the point. Did the student meet the learning objectives? This should be reflected in the grade. I feel that I DO have the ability to offer grace when I have done my part in keeping a student accountable. Did we write in their planner? Did I email/call home? Did I open my classroom during homeroom for tutoring and homework time? Did they attend tutoring? When my students see ME going above and beyond for their success, they rise to the challenge. I was pulling my hair out during my first year teaching because I was constantly chasing students down for missing work. Finally, I started handing out forms with their missing work listed. I remember when I handed out the forms for the first time and they stared at me because I wasn’t giving them class time to make up their late work… I wasn’t chasing them down during my prep time to complete work that I already went over! But now, every single one of my students brings back their work the next day after an absence. The best part is, they are so proud of their newfound work ethic. 

4. Invest in individual relationships- If you do not do small groups in your classroom, I recommend it for this reason alone: They help build relationships. I genuinely try to know my students. We talk about their hobbies and their favorite movies. We talk about video games, sports, the news, the weather, clothes, family, and more. Daily journals helped open the door to these conversations while also keeping us on track. This matters to me as an individual who is not merely a robot-teacher slaving away. This matters to my students who are more than a name on a list. 

As a whole, we just need to care. Care enough to call out bad behaviors. Care enough to put in the time that it takes for every kid to pass. Care enough to give a bad grade when it is deserved but also care enough to sit with that student after school to redo the assignment. Just care. And they will too.