Balls

I'm starting to think that my students (especially my 7th graders) think its completely okay to fail.  I mean yes they do get upset when they receive any sort of bad grade, but there's no effort given in trying to change the bad grade.  There's no realization that strikes in telling them maybe just maybe it's time to change things around.  Start doing homework, start paying attention, and so on.

Progress reports went out last Thursday.  More than half of my 7th grade students are in the C-F range. Friday they walk into class knowing that they have a lab.  They are loud, walking around, not paying any attention.  I stand in front of the class.  It takes them 15 minutes to realize that I'm standing up there.  We only have 45 minutes of class left.  I wait for them.  Then its silence.  See they're used to me settling them down, yelling at some, and so on.  Friday I had had it.  I wasn't going to waste my time doing any of it.  I looked at them.  They looked at me.  I waited for silence.  And I asked them...

"Are you okay with this?  Are you okay with how you walk into a classroom?  How you waste time even though you know that you're here to learn?  Are you okay with me just standing here waiting for you to settle down?  Are you okay that more than half of you are getting a D or an F in this class?  Because honestly if you're okay with it I'll sit right over there everyday and you can come in do what you want and walk out learning absolutely nothing.  I'll still get paid.  You won't.  Because if you're okay with that let me know."

More staring.

"Because until you have the balls enough to come up to me and tell me, Ms. P it's okay that I'm failing your class and it's not a big deal that I'm not learning anything, you better get your act together.  Because unless you have the balls enough to come up to me and say that to my face I will keep "doing too much", I will keep calling your parents, I will keep pushing you to do your work and pay attention, I will keep coming to your church, and I will keep doing MY job to educate YOU. So it's up to you to either get it together now or grow a pair."

Was it probably the best approach?  Probably not.  But did it get the point across?  Oh god yes it did.  Will it last?  Who knows.

-Ms. P