I do. Even when they haven’t contributed in two weeks. Even when they are a pain in my butt. Even when they are rude. Even when they tell you that they don’t care. Everyone tries their best. Maybe their best is not what you expect, but it is the best they can do in that moment. Sorry…I am just getting tired of listening to people complain about their kids not working to their potential, or being bored, or not listening, or not remembering something, or failing, or (fill in blank). There have been sooooo many days in the last year that I came in and did not do a perfect job as a teacher. There are days I would have given myself a “B” and days when I would have given me an “F.” But no one did. I could come in and cruise through a day without any one questioning me, checking my lesson plans, or grading me when I was down. Even on the days I would have gotten an “F” I was doing my best under the circumstances. Instead I am known for my “A” days. Everyone seems to ignore the “F” days. But when a kid has a crappy week there goes 10% of their grade for the quarter. I have a crappy month and there is still the same amount in my paycheck each week. I don’t know…think I am starting to whine, starting to ramble…what’s going on with these last two posts…someone finish this post for me…
5 Comments
on “Do you believe every kid does their best?”
5 Comments on “Do you believe every kid does their best?”
You started to say it–students do their best that they can on any given day. Teachers do the best they can on any given day. I don’t agree with you, though. I think that 95% of teachers and students do their best on any given day. The other 5% sometimes does their best. They are the ones that cause trouble on purpose. They are the ones that make life difficult.
I do think it is horrible that when kids behave poorly they get their grades shot down. That is really bad. Also, your contract doesn’t stipulate that you be a good teacher (which is unfortunate) it just requires that you be there and pass evaluations (which are kind of a joke). It is a good thing we don’t get paid less for our bad days. I have been there, done that when I was in sales.
“They are the ones that cause trouble on purpose. They are the ones that make life difficult.”
Jethro, these kids are still doing their best given the situation they are in. Did you ever have just a really horrible day and you weren’t able to do what you wanted to…you did the best you could but it wasn’t what you would have done if all the other stresses from you life was removed. Imagine if that day continued day after day after day and you saw no end to it. That’s where those 5% of the kids live–even if sometimes it is not obvious to us, after talking to them you usually find that there is some kind of chronic stress in their life. That’s all they know, and that’s what they become if we assume they are not doing their best.
…I would actually flip your numbers around
Just because I would have given myself an “F” doesn’t mean I was doing a bad job. It just means that I was not doing the “best” I could. No one would have noticed except me –and a last random thought you sparked– I think that if we spent more time talking to that 5% you mentioned instead of trying to correct behavior that 5% would be much better off. The problem is that that 5% would take 95% of our energy….and that’s another post topic.
Paul, I understand what you are saying, but I do still think that there are kids and adults that do not do the best they can on any given day. I only say this because I was one of those kids. My 9th grade English teacher annoyed me. So, I would purposefully do less than my best for the attention she gave me. Eventually, I just got kicked out of the Honors program. There was not chronic stress (though, I know there are kids that do have those problems and are doing the best they can.
Paul, I think I agree with you on this one.
I think kids (and all people for that matter) do what works for them. If they are starved for attention, they will do what they can to fulfill that need, even if it means bad things for them.
Jethro, I think this is a philosophical question. Of course, we rarely do what we are actually fully capable of doing. Instead we settle for what works best for us at the moment. Sometimes in doing that, we make some bad decisions that result in bad outcomes.
For example, this week I had the distasteful task of dealing with two plagiarists in my class. Both had very convincing arguments for why they had to do it that way. Outside pressures from work and family limited the amount of time they had to complete assignments, so they chose to “cut and paste”. To them, given the circumstances, it seemed the best that they had to offer at the time.
Will I let their rationalizing deter me from reporting the violation of rules? Will I rescue them from the painful consequences that soon await them? Not a chance!
But I was not angry they made the choice they did. I recognize that to them it seemed a logical choice. I recognize that they are immature, and need further development in moral reasoning . To rescue them would deny them an opportunity for growth. I can see why they did it, but it doesn’t mean I must agree with it.
Yes, I think people usually do the best they are able given their circumstances.
Paul, I’m curious why you asked this question?
Bill– “Why I asked this question?”
I have just gotten tired lately of teachers not trusting, not believing in, not loving their kids. I am tired of having to sit by and listen to all of the complaining and insults. I am tired of listing to all of the reasons why the kids are not learning or behaving but not hearing one thing that the teachers are doing to help the kid. I am tired of the fact that almost every teacher really has the same code of ethics and morals and personality — sure there are slight differences, but I don’t know if they work with our 21st Century kids.
Actually…while all the above is true–after you made me process this a bit I think what sparked this post I made into the topic of my latest post…look up…