Absent? How do I teach you?
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The kids I am struggling with this semester are absent - because they cuss out the AP and get 2 weeks out of school, or pull out their cell phones and get a week out - or read books or do other assignments while I am writing material on the board.
They struggle with what I call basic Algebra 1 - the ability to move things around in an equation and isolate different variables. And yet, they need that in so many classes (chemistry and physics to name 2).
I had two students write on the last test that they couldn't work any of the problems because I didn't teach it. While I was giving examples of switching between vertex form and standard form of a quadratic, one was writing poetry and drawing, the other was filling out some sort of an application.
When I finished my example, and they had NOTHING written on the graphic organizer I had given them, I stood beside their desk and told them it was hard for me to take any argument that I cannot teach seriously when they cannot follow simple instructions. I will be calling home - and I hate that.
7 comments:
So sad, because they need you the most. :O(
How frustrating. I often find myself wishing I had taken classes more seriously myself (especially in college) but I can't imagine being that disengaged from the lesson.
Thanks for playing 6WS!
Your fault--if yo were more engaging they would be paying attention. (At least that is what my AP would say.)
How very frustrating for you. I remember struggling with algebra...I could not get my brain wrapped around it! Now Geometry? I loved it-go figure!
Keep up your good work and nice thoughful 6WS!
My admins would say that if I had a relationship with the students, if I created an environment where they OWNED their work, they would come and pass.
While I never skipped class, I never applied myself in 11th grade either. I hated school, I hated life and I was just done with it all. I failed all my classes and then dropped out....
EIGHT years later, I went back, took my GED test and passed with the highest score possible. Why? Because I realized what my teachers had been trying to tell me all along - it might suck sometimes, but it's worth it!
You never know what the future holds for these kids, keep pushing, keep trying and keep encouraging. Be tough. They will love you for it in the long run.
Happy Six Word Saturday,
~Autumn
If I don't come can't learn!
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