Kids I find it easy to like?
-Those that have like interests, sports, movies, readings, faith.
Kids I find it hard to like?
-Those that show little respect, behavioral issues, lack of interest in class.
Kids I am sorry for?
-Outcasts, lower economics, disabilities.
Kids I feel threatened by?
-Those that display violent tendencies, dress inappropriately (boys and girls)
Kids I identify with?
-Athletes, outdoorsmen, gamers.
Kids I gravitate towards?
-Students with like interests, do well in school, easy to talk to and dont shy away from teacher interest.
Kids I feel inadequate around?
-Those I cannot "fix" their lives. (I can always help to improve, but seeing self-destructive behaviors really pulls on me)
Kids I probably don't even notice?
-Quiet, back of class, little participation.
In response to the kids you find it hard to like, do you think it's the behavior that turns you off more so than the student himself? I know for me, I tend to gravitate toward these types of students for awhile until I either reach a break-through with them or I cannot continue working with them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the effect that self-destructive behavior has on you. That is really hard for me to see too, and I often feel helpless around people with these behaviors. One, they are hard to watch and two, they are usually justified (and so hard to break) in the person.
A few questions: how do you think your reaction to different types of people will play out in the classroom? What does this reflection imply to you as a teacher? Will you work to change anything or work to keep anything the same?
It is heartbreaking that high school kids--children really--are sometimes caught up in horrifyingly self-destructive cycles. It would be nice to hope that education might save them from their fates, but for kids in that situation, school is the furthest thing from their minds.
ReplyDeleteI liked that you identified with gamers. Can you tell a gamer just by looking at him/her?
I wonder whether we can grow away from our tendencies--to like or dislike, to fear or appreciate. I also worry that by being too aware of them, we might over compensate and be colder to those we feel the most similar to.
The key, I think, is to appreciate the value and humanity of all.
Important comments here. One of the most difficult things to do as a teacher is to not match your students' emotions. When students give up, it is often easy to give up on them. When students are in your face, it is easy to try to match that energy. It is difficult to think more broadly about the goals you might have for that student and how to act to help you achieve those goals in the heat of the moment. Do you have a sense of how your emotions develop as you interact with students that are most difficult?
ReplyDelete