Student Empowerment ?

I will do my best to make this as brief, as clear, and as applicable as possible.

A fine teacher I know was complaining about a troublesome student who chronically teeters on the edge of insubordination and disrepect. Often, the princess in question will try to camouflage a personal oversight or error of omission on her part by claiming that the teacher had failed to adequately explain, notify, or remind the student of her responsiblities.
"You should have reminded us," she will say - or - "if you had taught that better I would have understood."

In each case, the student is using a simple dynamic: blame someone else for her error.

I say, ignore the tendency to respond by being affronted by the disrespect lurking in the shadows, or even the defiance standing at full attention. Address the challenge head on.

"Well Susie," the teacher might say, "Let's test the theory."

"Class, I need you to answer the next few questions as honestly as possible? How many of you remember how I notified you that the homework/project/assignement was due today?"

"You told us Wednesday in class."
"It's on the board right behind you."
"Don't you have all the assignments posted on your web page?"
"I put it in my agenda book."

"Question two: Does anyone have an idea for how I might make it easier for everyone to remember their due dates and assignment schedule?"

"You could put in on a calendar."
"You could tell us to write it in our agenda books."
"You could send us an email or a text."

Now, of course, most teachers are not going to want to send out assignment alerts via email or text, but you get the idea.

I think early in the school year, teachers should review a small number of rules for classroom engagement. Something like this:

1. Bring required materials.
2. Copy assignments from the board during class warm-up or closure period.
3. Adrress absolutely everyone respectfully while in the confines of the classroom, including the teacher.

Then ask the students what other rules they think should be followed, and how they should be enforced. The funny thing is that invariably, the students know how school should work, and their mechanism for enforcement and penalties for irresponsibility are often mre severe than the teacher can or will enforce.

Also important: the class need not adopt all the suggestions. The teacher can simply explain where the suggestions are inappropriate, and offer alternatives to the unsupportable ideas. In the end, the teacher is still the authority for which rules and expectations will stand.

The value of the exercise at the early part of a year or semester is that academic indifference - or even the disrespectful comments noted in the intro. - can be bluntly and directly addressed when they occur.

The student who claims that notification was absent or ineffective cannot deny that notification methods have been common practice throughout the year. [Important warning here: in those instances where circumstances have prevented the teacher from notifying according to the plan, the teacher will need to make allowances. For instance, for an assignment that didn't make it to the teacher web page, or wasn't posted on the board, the teacher must give the student to the end of the day, or even allow for the item to be submitted a day late without penalty depending on the circumstances.]

For the comment critical of the teacher's instructional method, the student empowerment scheme can also help. Most teachers have systems in place for clarifying messages, instructions, or requirements. Make certain that remediation opportuities are also posted. "See me after school. Send me an email. Post on the discussion board. I will take questions during the last five minutes while the class reads independently, sets up the homework assignment, or reviews notes."

I know of a teacher who has a suggestion box of sorts. Students drop 3x5 cards with their question in a box at the door and the teacher posts the answers on the teacher web page.

One major point is this: no part of the learning process should be a guessing game. Students are going to screw up and neglect duties of one kind or another. The test of their commitment needn't be whether they copied the assignemnt, but whether they turned it in at the appointed time. Therefore, set up study buddies, or employ some of the ideas suggested in here. Make access to the necessary information routine, clear, and easy. The only excuses for not submitting something should be that the dog really did eat it, or the student didn't do his job. The student should never be able to claim that he couldn't overcome a momentary error or oversight.

After all, the measure of teacher success is student achievement. Teachers know that students are often lazy, indifferent, irresponsible, and careless. Why let expected student responsibility challenges be the reason for teacher failure. A student failure is a teacher failure, and teacher's want to have as few of those as possible.

The ultimate success occurs when the teacher can say, "Susie gets little parental support, does not engage consistently in her learning, socializes too frequently, and exhibits some definite knowledge and skill gaps, but she earned a legitimate B in my class."

Good job teach!