Reflection On My Last Session

I've been thinking about the last post I made. I wanted to write something about it but I wasn't sure it fit in with the rest of what I wrote so I decided to post it here separately.



I did the best I could and I actually think I did pretty okay. But I still feel bad, because he seemed like a smart guy and I'm pretty sure he's going to fail this class. I only worked with him once so that's not on me. And of course I can't go back in time and make him show up to class or take the class for him. Part of this is on him. He is the kind of student I used to be, and helping students like that is the reason I decided to become a teacher. I think there are students who are capable but who are failing anyway. I think that one of the problems common to those students, and one I had when I was younger and in school, is lack of motivation. That may not have been this guy's issue, it may have been something completely different for him, but that's what I've been thinking about.

The more I think about it, the more I see education as a responsibility shared by the student and the teacher. I think they both have to bring something to the table. To a certain extent, it might not matter if a teacher brings his or her A-game. If a student doesn't bring any game at all... what then? I don't want that to sound like a cop-out. I've heard teachers say things like, if their students don't try at all there's nothing they can do for them. I've heard teacher say that about ME. It pissed me off back in the day, but I get it now, I do. But that's not what I mean. I'm not throwing my hands up in the air and offering a resigned "what then?" I'm asking: what then? What do I as a teacher do then, when a student isn't holding up their end? How do I get them to do that? How do I motivate them?

I think all students have experiences both in and out of school that affect their attitude about education. I don't think a teacher should be held responsible for every awful thing that has happened in a student's life, or for the negative school experiences they may have had before they got to their class. But I do think it's the teacher's responsibility to figure out what to do about it now. I only have vague ideas about what to do about it. But I have 60 hours of classroom observation next semester, two more years of college, and a ton of student teaching to do before I'm held personally responsible for my own group of students in my own classroom.

I'm sure my ideas will be less vague by the time I get there. I mean, I say I'm sure they will. But what I mean is, I hope they will.