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Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Boys make me pull out my hair

Is there pne of these for boys?

Or turns my hair gray. Or gives me ulcers.

I have some really great students who are boys. Smart, capable, funny, personable, likable, hard-working, polite, full of personality (which just happens to often be hilarious)-boys that make the teaching day great. Just really great people to teach.

And then there's the opposite side of the spectrum. Boys that drive me insane because they fail to understand the connection between their own work and their achievement.

"Why am I getting an F?" they ask.

Because you have turned in precisely ONE piece of homework in the past MONTH, I reply.

"Why are you giving me a detention? I wasn't talking. I was just asking him a math question." they say.

Because you asked in a way that is highly inappropriate, disrupting the class and disturbing other students from their own learning.

"Well, I just won't ask questions anymore." they say.

Frankly, it might do the entire world some good if you can keep your mouth shut for just one class period. But somehow, I don't think it'll happen.

It makes me wonder: what am I doing that isn't serving these boys well? How can I improve upon this? What is it that they aren't getting?

Because these boys are the kind of people who - if I were their parent - would make me want to send them to military school.

Hm. Maybe a more militaristic way of teaching is actually what they need. Because apparently, kindness, second chances, and patience just don't cut it.

2 comments:

LSquared32 said...

Probably it's hormones. Their brains have left the building temporarily. Perhaps they'll return in another 6 months.

bun2bon said...

Unfortunately, it'll be too late to save them from their lack of brains and overload of hormones 6 months from now. Gotta do something about it today.