Friday, October 26, 2012
Enabling?
As first quarter winds down here at SWJH, I find myself trying to keep a balance between helping kids to improve their grades and reinforcing irresponsible behavior. As junior high students, I think it is important for kids to take the initiative to ask questions about missing assignments or extra help on their own. I also know, from experience, that most kids don't. It is really hard for me to see students earning grades below--or sometimes even far below--their potential. I have grades posted and updated in each week in the classroom, I have contacted parents multiple times about low grades, I remind students of my availability during and outside of the school day, I emailed missing assignments to study hall teachers, I have registered kids for SWAT...but still there are missing assignments. I'm not sure where to go from here. I so badly want my students to succeed, but when is "chasing them down" too much? Where is the line between helping and enabling...and am I on the wrong side of it?
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This is a great question that I am dealing with in fifth grade, as well! There are many students who bring their grades down below the passing line because they do not turn in their homework. It came up at conferences, where I showed parents a list of the missing work. I think there is only so much that can be done. It sounds like you are doing a lot of work to track down that missing homework. I can understand why you would take these measures, but I think that after a certain point (and it sounds like that's about where you're at), you simply have to let the consequences kick in. Perhaps first quarter grades will be a wake-up call for some of these students.
ReplyDeleteI know your struggle Mara, as I teach the same grade and subject as you. I think that the work we are doing in PLC time and the support we are giving kids is more than enough encouragement for students. Because we don't have SWAT at EJH, I found myself giving students frequent "working lunches" which meant that I had to give up my own lunch and staying with students every day after school. This type of support I would say is enabling, which is not only bad for students because it teaches irresponsibility but it also burns you out as a teacher. My host teacher when I was student teaching said that my students, and not I, should be tired at the end of the day from all the learning they have done. If they are not tired and you are exhausted, they are not doing enough themselves. You are a great teacher, so this quarter I would say do not worry - I think they will develop the need to be more responsible by looking at their first quarter grades or hopefully through the encouragement of their parents.
ReplyDeleteThis is a tough question, and I think that parents as well as teachers struggle with it. I recently read an article addressed to the parent audience about how much help they should be giving their kids with homework. The point was that parents can be enablers too. They often take on too much of the responsibility for ensuring that kids get their homework in and that they do it well. This really is the student's job. Parents can help their kids by having a regular homework time in a quiet place, and encouraging their kids to stick with it when the going gets tough, rather than jumping in at the first sign of a struggle. I teach second grade, when kids are just starting to learn good homework habits, and I think these are valuable insights to share with parents. If we adults can teach kids early on to take responsibility for their own work, then that's a good thing. Consequences only get bigger as kids get older, so delaying them doesn't do kids a service. At the second grade level, the consequence is generally that they our Fun Friday opportunity for a little free time, because they are busy completing their homework.
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