Getting Through - How to Reach Difficult Students

There's always at least one student that you just can't reach. In my case, it's many. Teaching at a lower income, urban school, I've found that sometimes I have whole classes full of these students. Many of these students come prepared with the attitude that it doesn't matter if they try, they always fail. Some don't see the point because they don't see the relevance of nouns to their lives. Some others might think that school is not important because they will be dropping out to work anyway. It can be hard when all of your efforts and planning go out the window every day. It seems impossible. But, I'm here to say it's not. I've experienced the failures, but also I've experienced success with students. Here are some of the ideas that have worked for me.

Make it Real
Students will do the work if they see a point. As an English teacher, I find that if I relate my curriculum to real-world skills, then the students are more likely to get excited. An example of this is that I have my students practice research, reading, and writing in the context of college admission. Many of my students never thought about how to apply to college and how to get in. I have students research colleges and careers, research college admissions and scholarships, write admissions essays, etc. We even took a college tour at a local university. My students love these activities because it gives them the chance to learn about something that they can apply and also gives me a chance to push college and furthering their education. Just look for the real world situations you can use your curriculum in and base your lessons off of that. You'll be amazed at the results.

What They Like
Taking the time to learn about what your student are interested in will pay off. This can help you to choose good examples, writing prompts, research projects, etc. Being an English teacher, it helps me to choose what books and stories we read. Sometimes I have students that are really in to social change, so books like Fahrenheit 451 or Uglies might be more interesting to them. Some of them are very interested in things like WWII and the Holocaust and so books like Night are appropriate. It's always good to know your kids, if you can relate something to them, it's going to mean more and they'll speak more. An example of this is in my ESL Language Arts course. My students have shown a great interest in social change and unity, and so we are reading Night, by Elie Weisel, and then will be doing a project on others who have survived and influenced the world and then showing them how they can influence the world. Designing curriculum around their interests can be a lot of work, but can also be rewarding.

A Personal Connection
Having conversations with a student about themselves and showing interest in them goes a long way. I had some very, very difficult students this year. Many of them act out because it's the only way they get attention. Taking the time to get to know them helped a lot. Don't get me wrong, it didn't necessarily save them all, but it made the atmosphere of class better. The students didn't seem to feel so defensive when they walked in and I asked them about their soccer game or started to discuss their favorite basketball game. It made me feel more comfortable in asking them to behave for me and seemed to make them more comfortable participating in my class. A little love goes a long way.

Keeping Up
Most teachers have over 100-150 students at the secondary level. It can be hard to track students and their progress and grades. Something I have found, however, is that doing it can help a student stay on track and show that you care. I had several difficult students in my class, so I decided to take on the role of advocate, rather than just teacher. I looked at their grades in other classes and spoke to other teachers to see how they behaved. I then took that information to the student. I let them know that I was watching over them in more than just my class. I let them know that I had talked to other teachers and that I was watching out for them elsewhere. For several of them, it seemed that their grades went up because they knew that I would be asking them about it. I think that it's because they knew that I cared.

Some students are difficult. It can't be avoided. If you use some of these ideas, it can help you to gain their trust and pique their interest, but the best way to help a "trouble student" is to care. There is no better idea than that.