Say Something, I'm Giving Up on You...

Billy is the type of student that spends more time in the principal's office than in an actual classroom.  He doesn't complete work, he refuses to follow directions, he has low test scores, and he doesn't get along with his peers.  He often sits at his desk, with a brooding look on his face, and either falls asleep, or creates a paper gadget to throw across the room.  He has no motivation, no grit, no tenacity.

Billy lives at home with a single mom who has to work two jobs to make ends meet.  His father abandoned the family when Billy was seven years old.   Billy is responsible for taking care of his two younger siblings, and he doesn't have anyone to hold him accountable for the choices he makes at school, both academically and behaviorally.  

At school, Billy is on a team that has had two language arts teachers, and one math teacher quit in the middle of the current school year.  The school just keeps juggling subs between the two classes.  His other teachers are trying the best they can, but they are overwhelmed with trying to maintain a stable learning environment for their students in the absence of two core teachers.  

Billy has no adult to turn to.  He has no outlet for his anger and frustration other than to act out in class.  He doesn't have anyone to model appropriate behavior, or to help him figure out the difference between right and wrong.  

Billy has been abandoned by almost every adult figure in his life thus far.  His father moved out, his mother never has time for him, and three of his teachers have decided they were going to leave their classes.  

To Billy, it feels like everybody has given up on him.  Is it really a surprise that he's the kid that has secured a permanent seat outside the principal's office?

Sadly, this is a situation that happens all too often in our public schools today.  This situation especially occurs in Title I schools where the population has high poverty levels, and is know for "the rough kids."  I know this because I work at one of these schools.  

I see it in the grimaces on faces when I tell people what school I teach at.  I have been told by many that I am "insane" or that I should move to an affluent school where the kids and parents care more.  

My school has one of the highest teacher turn-over rates in our county.  Every year, we see as many as ten or twelve teachers leave their students in the middle of the year for various reasons.  Some have family or health issues, some  have chosen to make a career change, but the majority leave to go to another school because they can't "handle the kids anymore."  Once a teacher chooses to leave, it often takes weeks or even months to fill that position with a quality candidate.  In the meantime, subs take over the classes.  The fact is, no matter how great they are, most subs are just not equipped with the skills necessary to foster meaningful and effective learning in a classroom.  Our students are expected to maintain excellent behavior and grades while they are sitting in a class completing worksheets day after day while the sub tries to sustain control and babysit.  

Who are we kidding?  I know I couldn't learn in a situation like that, even if I wanted to.  How can we expect our kids to?  How can we be surprised when test scores drop, or when referral numbers skyrocket?  

Don't get me wrong, there are definitely situations in which a teacher leaving mid-year is justified.  Lack of administrative or teaching support can definitely be understandable factors.  However, the reality of the situation is that 85% of the time, it's not justified.  Are the kids really that bad that they couldn't stick it out until the end of the year?  Did they really use every resource and learning experience available to help maintain a better learning environment for their classroom?  

The fact is very simple.  We need the best teachers in our worst schools.  PERIOD.

Our "at risk" kids are the ones who need routine, they need structure, they need someone who does not give up on them.  

I don't have the magic answer of how to deal when times get rough in your classroom.  Of how to make it better so you don't have to abandon your students who need you so desperately. 

I personally feel that the relationships that we foster with these "difficult students"are the key to succeeding as a teacher at a Title I school.  Have conversations with your kids! You can usually figure out the source of their behavior if you simply sit down with them and find out what's on their mind.  They need to know you care.  And guys, you can't foster those relationships if you leave.  

 I have recently been asked to take over an 8th grade Language Arts class for one month to prepare them for the FCAT Writes Test at the end of February.  These students have had TWO language arts teachers leave them already this year, the most recent one left one month before the big test.  In addition, last year, many of them were on a 7th grade team, that at one point had THREE instructional vacancies because content area teachers left mid-year.  It's going to be difficult for me to juggle two groups of students, I'm taking over classes that have had limited writing instruction this year, and that are not the best behaviorally, and I am leaving my own students for eleven instructional days.  As hard as this is for me, I know that I am helping out my school for the greater good.  

Today was one of the hardest days I've faced as a teacher when I had to tell my students that I was leaving them for a month.  It was like taking a bullet.  I honestly didn't anticipate how difficult it would be for me to tell them since it's only for a few weeks, but their sad little faces broke me.  

It was in those moments today that I realized how much of an impact we make on our students every day.  I got a first hand look at the effect a teacher leaving can have on a child, and I'm only leaving for a short time.  I can't imagine ever leaving them permanently, no matter how tough things got.  

We can't possibly teach our kids how to have grit, and how to persevere and not quit when they most want to give up if we don't display those qualities ourselves.  I will never teach at an affluent school, because it's the kids in high poverty areas that need us the most.  We can make the most difference in their lives.  This is just my personal opinion, so take it as you will, but I believe wholeheartedly that my school needs good, quality teachers that will stick it out, and will provide our students with the quality education they deserve.  Until we achieve that, we can't expect much to improve.

We all have bad days, we all have times where we want to give up, and we all get frustrated and complain to the point where we literally don't think we can take it one more day.  The fact it, we need to suck it up.  Remember the ONE reason why we do what we do.  It's for the kids.   

Even the naughty, defiant, profane, violent, disrespectful, and lazy kids like Billy. 

Those kids, more than others, need teachers who won't give up on them.