Over the course of a year, it can be hard to get an entire staff on board to support students who consistently struggle with meeting basic expectations in and outside of the classroom. You look for any signs of student growth, but are hard-pressed to find it. It gets tiring to see this behavior in your classroom over the course of days, weeks, months, and sometimes years. You talk to them and their parents, assign consequences, give prizes for good behavior, and their misbehavior still continues. It becomes almost justifiable to give up on the student because you’ve tried your best and nothing has worked. You tell yourself that there’s nothing more you can do and wipe your hands clean of the student. This isn’t an uncommon situation and it’s something I’ve felt on a number of occasions. One example in particular has taught me the importance of challenging that perspective.
Student Growth Story: His name is Carlos Mejia*.
I taught him science during his first 8th grade year. On the inside he was a sweet kid, but that didn’t prevent him from constantly pushing others’ buttons. He would come unprepared to his classes, talk back to teachers, rarely be in uniform, and struggled to turn in his work. I called his mom at least once/week and had pep talks with him almost every day. I wasn’t the only one pushing for him, however, as he had a large support network throughout the campus made up of his former and current teachers.
Our Support Didn’t Seem Like it was Enough
Unfortunately, the support we provided didn’t prevent him from being retained at the end of the year. During his second 8th grade year, he continued with the same behavior and his circle of support dwindled. It was hard for teachers to justify the time they spent with him when they could seemingly make greater gains with other students. He barely scraped by to earn a spot in the 9th grade for the upcoming school year. His behavior persisted into 9th grade and he consistently found himself in detention, in school suspension, and my office. The support he had been receiving from a large number of adults now came from just a few.
Signs of Student Growth
He made a turn for the better during his 10th grade year, however, as this was the first year he didn’t fail a semester of math in his entire time at our school (6th – 9th grade). I started to see less and less of him in detention and he rarely showed up in my office. Come his 11th grade year, and detention was the exception rather than the rule for him. The first time he was in my office this year was to ask questions about his schedule for the following year. As soon as he entered, he explained how weird it felt to be in my office for the first time that year so late in the year. He acknowledged his growth and owned up to his previous knuckleheaded ways.
Student Growth = Marathon
His story has left an impact on me, however, as it helped me realize the importance of thinking about student growth like a marathon. You can put in all the effort you want throughout the race, but you’re not done until you get to the finish line. You can’t give up after putting in an hour of work, regardless of how hard you’re running. The same applies to our students. We can’t focus our support for a year and think that’s enough for all of our students. We’re playing the long game with our students, just as we do when we’re running a marathon. Some students are like the Olympians who can finish the marathon in two hours, while others are more like our beginners and need 6-8 hours to finish it. All students can get to the finish line, but some students need more time and support than others. Just because all our students aren’t where we want them to be at the same time doesn’t mean they won’t get there at some point. If we persist and stay with them, they can make it to the end.
*The student’s name has been changed to protect his/her privacy.
