I have one particular senior student (let's call him/her Chris) who is lazy yet has done well all year because s/he picks up on things quickly (and has friends who will "help" by letting her/him copy their homework).
On Monday, Chris slept in my class.
On Tuesday, Chris missed the whole class because they were giving blood for the blood drive. (And never stopped by to get the assignment.)
I was out yesterday for my Math 1 thing and left a review sheet for the class for today's quiz. I told them earlier that I would come back from my meeting to help out after school if anyone had questions (7 or 8 students showed up, which I thought was totally respectable). I also had a couple of kids stop by during homeroom to ask questions, a couple of kids stop by during my Math Intervention class to ask questions. No biggie. (And I'd posted the worked-out solutions to our Schoology page.)
Chris stopped by during the class period before the quiz while I was helping my freshmen figure out how to solve a quadratic equation using square roots. At that point s/he expected me to drop everything and help her/him. When I said no, Chris was in disbelief. S/he expected me to put them first because the quiz was next period.
When quiz time arrived, I sat down next to Chris and told her/him that I would be more than willing to help out, but not during a class. I said s/he should've come by either yesterday after school or today before school. The response? Chris couldn't come after school yesterday and is always late to school so coming early wasn't an option.
I know it's not nice of me, but I hope next year something (smallish) happens to help Chris realize that things aren't going to work out so well in the real world. Or at least in a college setting. Some of these kids are so protected that they could get a real eye-opener when they leave high school.
On Monday, Chris slept in my class.
On Tuesday, Chris missed the whole class because they were giving blood for the blood drive. (And never stopped by to get the assignment.)
I was out yesterday for my Math 1 thing and left a review sheet for the class for today's quiz. I told them earlier that I would come back from my meeting to help out after school if anyone had questions (7 or 8 students showed up, which I thought was totally respectable). I also had a couple of kids stop by during homeroom to ask questions, a couple of kids stop by during my Math Intervention class to ask questions. No biggie. (And I'd posted the worked-out solutions to our Schoology page.)
Chris stopped by during the class period before the quiz while I was helping my freshmen figure out how to solve a quadratic equation using square roots. At that point s/he expected me to drop everything and help her/him. When I said no, Chris was in disbelief. S/he expected me to put them first because the quiz was next period.
When quiz time arrived, I sat down next to Chris and told her/him that I would be more than willing to help out, but not during a class. I said s/he should've come by either yesterday after school or today before school. The response? Chris couldn't come after school yesterday and is always late to school so coming early wasn't an option.
I know it's not nice of me, but I hope next year something (smallish) happens to help Chris realize that things aren't going to work out so well in the real world. Or at least in a college setting. Some of these kids are so protected that they could get a real eye-opener when they leave high school.
All I can focus on is, "(7 or 8 students showed up, which I thought was totally respectable). I also had a couple of kids stop by during homeroom to ask questions, a couple of kids stop by during my Math Intervention class to ask questions."
ReplyDeleteWow! That has to excite you. "Chris" would be one of my better students. The majority wouldn't bother to care at all.