Hope you had a good break-
Here is an article that will get you thinking about how much we don’t know about our students and how hard it is to connect and care about them. The emotion we put into them will drive you crazy, wear you out and destroy you emotionally, and it is not an option… all good teachers care about their students, usually above and beyond the required 45 minute class. If you give up on them, you give up on yourself-
http://www.utne.com/GreatWriting/Driving-School-Bus-Connecting-With-At-Risk-Kids.aspx
Also- Should we pay students to learn and behave in school? If we tell students that going to school is their job, then shouldn’t we pay them for it?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/21/AR2009032100760.html
(Sorry, my first posting didn’t work)
Enjoy- I look forward to your comments. I would like our comments on both article please.
9 comments
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March 25, 2009 at 12:19 am
Marie Umali
I know that both the articles aren’t posted, but I have an idea of what the second article is supposed to be about. I have read before that, I guess it was D.C., is going to start paying their students to show up to class. That’s it. Student shows up, student gets paid. I’ve heard about this for a while now and am still contemplating how I feel. On the one hand, can the student get paid even if he/she is a menace to the class? Will the student get paid if he/she shows up to class yet fails? I know that research proves the more students miss class the more they fail or drop out. However, some of my best days with my worst class are when the worst student is not there. Is this awful of me to say? Ultimately, I think paying students to show up will help students do just that. Show up. Should we pay students if they get A’s?
The second article reminds me very much of this one student I have. I will call him Jared. In my most exciting class (that 4th class), I noticed that the kids were making fun of Jared because he smells. Of course, my heart automatically clings to Jared because he can’t help that he’s stinky, or maybe he can. Bottom line is, a lot of kids make fun of him and he has no friends. In the mornings, I stand in the hallway to monitor kids. Jared always comes up to me with some random question about class. He doesn’t care about class! I know he just wants someone to talk to in the morning. He recently wrote a poem about how he has no life or friends. I asked my mentor about it, and she went nuts! She said his parents own a farm and he goes horseback riding often. So, maybe it’s not home life. His social skills suck. Whenever he talks to me, no matter how nice I am, everything is always my fault. I give him work back that I spend time editing, and he throws it away. I always answer his questions, and he argues with me. I don’t know how to explain it, but he sucks. And I think I’m his only “friend” or person he can talk to that doesn’t hold their nose or purposefully make fun of him to his face. How do I deal with this kid? I hate talking to him and he does smell. How long can I be nice to him? What do you think I should do with this student? I’m just scared that he will go home one day, after the whole class has picked on him, and do something extreme. After reading this article, I think what I will do is continue to talk to him and be as nice as I can be.
March 25, 2009 at 2:36 am
Melissa Warzinski
As Marie expressed, I also can anticipate what that other article might say. In a different class we were discussing the idea of paying students to come to class, and it was clear that the class was practically divided completely in half. I think it’s hard to side with this idea because it’s downright radical and to be perfectly honest, almost pathetic and strange. But at the same time, it’s hard not to side with it because the truth of the matter is…students will probably start coming if they get paid for it. But think about any job, often times there’s a lot of people that just “do it for the money.” If that’s the mindset that we are going for here, what does that mean for our classrooms, and for our teachers stuck with a room of disengaged, annoyed, misbehaving kids? If we are going to pay people to go to school, what will that mean for our jobs out there when these kids have been spoiled with the idea of getting paid for simply sitting in a room, and possibly behaving badly? Although there are good supporting reasons FOR this idea, I think there are far more reasons why we should not do this.
The article about the bus driver was extremely interesting to me. This proves that it isn’t just the teacher that needs to take the time to understand children. People need to take the time to try and understand other people in this world. Too much of our world is judgmental, and unwilling to help others, or look at them in a new light. This bus driver shows us how we as teachers can see students from different angles, and really CARE, whether we mean to or not. Even if that caring is based solely on curiosity. And sometimes that attention doesn’t mean you have to help them, but a teacher can at least “throw the life rope.” As the author states, “but you throw a shipwrecked kid a life rope and there has to be something more to haul him in too. Family. School. Church. A job, maybe?” we see how there are larger factors that need to helps students. Teacher training and teachers often dwell on the idea that we need to “save everybody,” but maybe this guy has a point….we can’t do the total saving ourselves. As he also says, “the ups and the downs of caring for these kids will turn you inside out, they are so extreme” I realize that even a bus driver can experience this…I wonder how intense of an experience it will be as a teacher…
March 25, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Lauren Straub
I really liked the bus driver’s article. He makes a good point that not every kid can be saved – some don’t want to, some may try but ultimately fail – but those that we can save, makes it all worthwhile. I kind of relate it to serving at the restaurant. When the restaurant is packed and we have a line of waiting people out the door, I know that I’m going to get to all of my customers equally, but some may not realize that it’s really busy – so I won’t be there to refill their drink as soon as they finish it up. Some tables love me, some tables don’t; I’ll get good tips, or I’ll get bad tips. It’s the same way with students: you try to help all of your students as much as you can, but some are going to succeed and some are not. (That may have been a stretch of an analogy…) It is important for all students to receive equal care and attention, but once teachers provide them with that, it is ultimately up to them to decide what they do with themselves. I think everyone will always continue to judge people, but I think teaching will help each of us to keep the judgements to ourselves and learn to look past them. I’m reading Delpitt’s “Other People’s Children” right now, but I just started. I think it will provide me with a lot of insight directly relating to this article.
Marie- I think that you should keep doing what you’re doing with Jared. You know that you did something to help him, even if it’s just to talk to him in the hallways. It definitely seems like he looks forward to coming to find you in the mornings.
I completely disagree with paying students to go to school. What is this teaching them? If they go to college, will they expect to be paid – or since they aren’t being paid at all, will they even go? And do kids seriously destroy their own checks?????? I can’t believe that they would do that to, essentially, FREE money. All they have to do is go to school and do work that they should have been doing anyway and they get mad because they aren’t being paid enough? Give me a break. I don’t agree with this at all. This isn’t a job, they didn’t earn a degree or work for their diploma to get paid.
March 26, 2009 at 5:20 am
Chantelle Ethier
I think building relationships with students is one of the most important aspects of teaching. It helps the student become comfortable with the teacher so they may share personal experiences. Knowing about a student’s personal experience will allow the teacher to understand their performance in school. If the student is struggling in school, it may be as a result of a difficult home life. It is difficult to draw the line between what is appropriate. The teacher has to be careful about what personal experiences they share and how close they get to the student, especially if the student is of the opposite sex. As for the article regarding D.C. cash incentives, D.C. schools should be embarrassed that they stooped this low to motivate students. For years, we have simply punished poor performing students, without rewarding students that do well. I agree rewarding for good behavior may be more of an incentive to perform well and good students deserve a reward for their achievements. However, this is the epitome of bribery for the D.C. school system. If good grades and the chance of a more successful future are not enough to motivate students, the education system has truly failed. Students in this program will not develop the intrinsic motivation, outside of grade school, to go onto college and beyond. The point system is just one more thing teachers have to keep track of for their students. This is distracting teachers from time that could be spent tutoring struggling students. I felt especially uncomfortable with the money that will be “deposited every two weeks into bank accounts the system plans to open for them.” This will require a new department, in charge of overseeing this program and distributing funds, resulting in another waste of tax dollars. Students will be conditioned to this “radical” extrinsic motivation that results in short-term effects. Every year students will expect this kind of reinforcement because they have been conditioned at such a young age. I understand the majority of the incentives being distributed are funds that were being spent on other failing education programs, but as school populations continue to grow, more and more funds will be necessary. As a future teacher and an independent taxpayer, I am livid about this idea. I don’t want my hard earned money going to the bribery of students and the degradation of the educational system.
March 26, 2009 at 6:02 am
Grace Yang
Um. Can I go back to my Middle School years right now and switch to a school in D.C.? Please? These kids are getting paid more than some Federal Work Study jobs on campus LOL. But all jokes aside, this is a horrible idea. Money is necessary and the checks probably will help the kids who need the money. However, I have a theory that ironic as it may seem, money cheapens life. As pre-service teachers I think you guys would agree with some part of my theory since after all, we’re obviously not going into this profession to “make BANK” but for something MORE. The money idea might improve some kids and destroy some kids as the article describes. How is intrinsic motivation affected by this? What’s going to happen when the research study is over??
Anyhow, the first article was beautiful. The raw and real emotions of helplessness, compassion and hope seem to attach to my very own heartstrings through the article’s numb, disconnected structure. The teachers who work at this school are indeed comparable to “soldiers” or rather the peace corps. May it be two or maybe even three students who we will “save”, that is two or three lives we have changed for the better with our one single life.
March 26, 2009 at 3:27 pm
maria cosio
I think that going into teaching, we need to have the mentality that we are going to at least TRY to “save” some of our students. We also need to be realistic though. We might fail at this with a lot of our students. One of my instructors who I still stay in touch with always tells me “EXPECt failure!But, we can not let that discourage us from still trying to help and reach out to our students.”
It is extremely important to recognize that we need to be there for them as much as possible. It is the positive adult relationships that help the type of kids who were mentioned in the article get through their tough situations. If the bus driver who just drives them to school for a couple of minutes felt a need to connect to the students, where do we stand as teachers? WE even have a greater responsibilty and need to build close relationships with our students. We spend even MORE time of the day with these students.
The other article just disappoints me. I feel that it needs to promote more actual academic performance. By just showing up to class and wearing your uniform, what are we promoting? What kind of message are these students getting? They can get paid for showing up to class and wearing their uniforms. Although getting good grades is another category, I do not think that we need to reward our kids just for showing up to class. These schools need to reward, (don’t think it should be money though) based on their actual academic improvements. In the real world, just showing up to work is not a guarantee that you will get paid. Your boss pays you and keeps you on the job if you are actually working hard and performing your jobs well.
I think that with this program, the teachers may be sending other messages. For example, the noisy kid in class who stays off task, gets paid for just actually showing up to class. He is still not performing well in school or improving his grades. I think it is unfair for the students to be given this program. Although it has a good concept of improving motivation and learning, I think they are other ways to incentive our kids other than just MONEY.
March 26, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Kati Ellsberry
My immediate reaction to the article about Hart Middle School paying students for their performance at school was that it was a horrible idea. For one, it’s not practical – students will not get paid in most high schools or any universities. However, in one of my other classes we discussed this idea and the professor pointed out that technically I am getting paid to go to college (I have a scholarship and get financial aid). At first I argued that it wasn’t the same, but in some ways it’s not that much different. The university pays for part of my tuition on the condition that my GPA does not fall below a 3.7; the kids at Hart MS are given money for coming to school, wearing their uniform, completing their homework, etc. Not only does this encourage them to do their work, but it also gives them the opportunity to save some money for college.
I still feel like there are too many flaws in the system. The article discussed that many students destroyed their checks. I’d be concerned that students might not really get the money. When I taught in Anne Arundel, about half my students had after-school jobs but most of them said the money they earned went to their parents to help pay for rent, utilities, or food bills. I wonder how many of these kids are really getting the money in the end. Even if they are, I feel like middle school is a little young for students to deal with that much money or even to deal with the extra stress about which brother or sister will get the most money that month.
I really liked story about the bus driver and thought it was a good reminder that we won’t be able to help all the kids that walk through our door, but that we can’t give up on them. It’s sometimes daunting to think that in a couple years (or sooner) most of us will be in our own classrooms trying to connect to hundreds of different students. I agree with Melissa though – if this is so tough for a bus driver, I can’t imagine how tough it is on all the teachers.
March 26, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Annie In
I loved the bus driver story and I hated the cash incentive article.
The two articles are really tied if you think about. The article about the bus driver really touches on how hopeful we MUST stay as teachers, no matter how much failure we may see or experience. I really liked how the article said that these kids were sad stories or beginnings of good ones, which is so true. We have no idea what will happen in the future, but if we sit there and give up on students who gave up on themselves a long time ago, what chance is there for them to realize that they can get out of this cycle of life they are so used to? I honestly am afraid of how emotionally stressed we will probably be at the end of the day, and I am scared I will become one of those cynical teachers who come to school because it is their job. The bus driver was very encouraging– if this bus driver who probably only spends rides home with the kids can have the capacity to somehow connect with the kids, then surely I hope that a teacher who spends more time with the students will be able to do something, especially an English teacher. I am constantly reminded in this class that these kids have a life outside of the classroom, and it might be wonderful or it might just be horrifying, but we have to know how it affects them and try to get through to them some how.
It shouldn’t be that the pay is what’s getting teachers to go to work everyday, because all of the extra work, way beyond just checking homework is not exactly calculated in a teacher’s paycheck. So then what are we teaching students about life here by paying them to come to school. I’m sure its not the pay that makes a teacher work their butt off to try to save a student, and it shouldn’t be the pay for a student to come to school so that they can have usable knowledge that can get them somewhere. I believe that the second article was just ridiculous. We are just teaching students to become little consumers and materialistic citizens that America is already known for.
How about they take all of this money they are giving out to students, millions of dollars, and maybe fix the schools so that it may be a place students would actually want to be and maybe use it to train better teachers to come to these schools that need so much help! The only thing I did like though was that these kids are really coming from poor homes and this could help out their homelife, but there are other ways in doing this.
You pay a kid to wear a uniform, then you might as well pay the kid to wipe their butt.
Lastly, I thought it was funny how this article took a quote from a principal who got FIRED to support why this experiment is a good idea..
March 26, 2009 at 6:52 pm
Kyle Sprague
Both articles speak to student-centered attention. They both deal with students who are ‘underprivileged’ and who are receiving extra care that may or may not help them in the long run. This is great. I do not agree with the money-merit system wholly, as it creates competition and embitters some students, but I feel that incentive is GREAT for ALL students.
The money-merit system could have several great benefits to go along with its downside.
-Incentive to do well
-Incentive to behave
-Possibility of teaching a lesson to the children about saving and the value of a dollar that is spent wisely
As I said, it has drawbacks, but so does coffee, or driving, or college. These are all things that are in some ways good but have drawbacks that we have to look past to see what is really important: waking up, getting there on time, getting a job/career. For the students: learning about life and giving them an opportunity to figure out what it is they need to do to stay off the streets.
As for the first article, I just love the way that this driver cares so much for his charges. I wish there were more people like him in the education system. Hell, that’s why I want to be a teacher. We need people who WANT to care about the STUDENTS. Their well being is in our hands. I think that the major message from the first article is that, yes, one person can certainly change things.
I quote, “You never know.”