Kicking Students Out
I finally kicked a student out of my class yesterday. This was a first for the year. Alas, teaching has a darker side to it. To put it another way, not all students are eager beavers ready to hang on the words of wisdom I daily spout for my meager fee (paid, of course, by their parents' tax dollars). It was a freshman girl I'll call Georgina.
Georgina was in my World History class last year. For the whole year. She's in my World History class again this year. And she's still a freshman, just as she was last year. Why, you may ask? Part of the answer should be obvious. She failed my class, and must have failed several others. For me, she did perhaps half of her homework assignments. Partly as a result of not studying, and partly because she probably cared less about doing well, her test average must have been in the 40 range. And if she was ever absent for a test, you could pretty much forget about her ever coming to make it up. So you get the idea about her desire to pass the course. Alas, even my inspirational, motivational speeches, natural charisma, and overall charm were unable to move her out of her apathy. Another reason she's in my class again is, I think, because she was ignorant to the fact that she doesn't have to pass my class to graduate (World History is an elective), and she was too lazy to try and find an alternative to sign up for.
Georgina, I'm pretty convinced, is a pathological liar. Perhaps not on the scale of another of my more memorable students, but a liar nonetheless. She's also one of those I'm rich-and-you're-not-and-I-know-it types. She also seems to have a sensitive nose. She complains if she thinks she is sitting near someone with b.o., and will try to move. On occasion last year she would produce a perfume bottle from her ever-present purse and fumigate the air. I learned that at least one teacher had written her up for such obnoxious behavior, so my class was not the only one in which she had odor issues. Last year she asked me if she could go to the nurse. She said she wasn't feeling well. This was on a day when the student council happened to be hosting a picnic outside, within eyesight of the windows in my room. I wrote her pass for her (even if we suspect it's not a legitimate illness, we really can't deny access to the nurse unless instructed to do so by an administrator), then proceeded to watch her periodically from my classroom as she hung out for the rest of the period at the picnic. Later, she had the audacity to suggest to me that it wasn't her I had seen in the courtyard, but someone who looked like her...
So, back to kicking her out. I was showing a movie in my class, and had an accompanying worksheet for students to complete as they watched. Now, the movie was definitely not in the thriller category. It was a documentary about the Egyptian pyramids. Still, I have no obligation to show thriller movies in class, but do have an obligation to attempt to instruct. The topic of study was Egypt, so the movie was on. Georgina wanted to sleep. She put her head down on her desk to rest. I told her to wake up. Repeatedly. She finally told me "I don't care what you say, I want to sleep." I then told her she could pay attention or get out of my class. (This was in line with what my principal, upon observing my class last year, had instructed me. "Never let a student sleep in your class," he had told me. "Up or out, that's the policy to use. And if you have a problem with a student, let me know.") So she agreed to go to her assistant principal (who deals with discipline issues). I let her go, and told her I would be checking later to make sure she went. Though removing a student for such a minor infraction may seem harsh, I was dutifully following my principal's instructions. And it is crucial to set a tone in the classroom that says defiance will not be tolerated. I hope that has now been accomplished.
Not surprisingly, I checked with the office later to learn that Georgina had never shown. The secretary was not surprised, and made a comment about her being up to her old tricks. Today I learned what the consequence was for Georgina's action. Four detentions. I guess she'll have plenty of opportunity to sleep at a desk now, as she whiles away time after school. Then again, if I was a betting man, I would put money on her never serving these detentions, which will eventually result in a day's suspension. Probably Georgina figures that staying in her own bed on some school day is a punishment to be much preferred over any detention. Such is the logic of all too many students at my school...
On another note, I still love teaching!!! The vast majority of my students are awesome, and so much worth the trouble others cause.
Georgina was in my World History class last year. For the whole year. She's in my World History class again this year. And she's still a freshman, just as she was last year. Why, you may ask? Part of the answer should be obvious. She failed my class, and must have failed several others. For me, she did perhaps half of her homework assignments. Partly as a result of not studying, and partly because she probably cared less about doing well, her test average must have been in the 40 range. And if she was ever absent for a test, you could pretty much forget about her ever coming to make it up. So you get the idea about her desire to pass the course. Alas, even my inspirational, motivational speeches, natural charisma, and overall charm were unable to move her out of her apathy. Another reason she's in my class again is, I think, because she was ignorant to the fact that she doesn't have to pass my class to graduate (World History is an elective), and she was too lazy to try and find an alternative to sign up for.
Georgina, I'm pretty convinced, is a pathological liar. Perhaps not on the scale of another of my more memorable students, but a liar nonetheless. She's also one of those I'm rich-and-you're-not-and-I-know-it types. She also seems to have a sensitive nose. She complains if she thinks she is sitting near someone with b.o., and will try to move. On occasion last year she would produce a perfume bottle from her ever-present purse and fumigate the air. I learned that at least one teacher had written her up for such obnoxious behavior, so my class was not the only one in which she had odor issues. Last year she asked me if she could go to the nurse. She said she wasn't feeling well. This was on a day when the student council happened to be hosting a picnic outside, within eyesight of the windows in my room. I wrote her pass for her (even if we suspect it's not a legitimate illness, we really can't deny access to the nurse unless instructed to do so by an administrator), then proceeded to watch her periodically from my classroom as she hung out for the rest of the period at the picnic. Later, she had the audacity to suggest to me that it wasn't her I had seen in the courtyard, but someone who looked like her...
So, back to kicking her out. I was showing a movie in my class, and had an accompanying worksheet for students to complete as they watched. Now, the movie was definitely not in the thriller category. It was a documentary about the Egyptian pyramids. Still, I have no obligation to show thriller movies in class, but do have an obligation to attempt to instruct. The topic of study was Egypt, so the movie was on. Georgina wanted to sleep. She put her head down on her desk to rest. I told her to wake up. Repeatedly. She finally told me "I don't care what you say, I want to sleep." I then told her she could pay attention or get out of my class. (This was in line with what my principal, upon observing my class last year, had instructed me. "Never let a student sleep in your class," he had told me. "Up or out, that's the policy to use. And if you have a problem with a student, let me know.") So she agreed to go to her assistant principal (who deals with discipline issues). I let her go, and told her I would be checking later to make sure she went. Though removing a student for such a minor infraction may seem harsh, I was dutifully following my principal's instructions. And it is crucial to set a tone in the classroom that says defiance will not be tolerated. I hope that has now been accomplished.
Not surprisingly, I checked with the office later to learn that Georgina had never shown. The secretary was not surprised, and made a comment about her being up to her old tricks. Today I learned what the consequence was for Georgina's action. Four detentions. I guess she'll have plenty of opportunity to sleep at a desk now, as she whiles away time after school. Then again, if I was a betting man, I would put money on her never serving these detentions, which will eventually result in a day's suspension. Probably Georgina figures that staying in her own bed on some school day is a punishment to be much preferred over any detention. Such is the logic of all too many students at my school...
On another note, I still love teaching!!! The vast majority of my students are awesome, and so much worth the trouble others cause.
posted by redsoxwinthisyear at 9:01 PM
3 Comments:
What a bummer. I could never deal with that kind of thing. I am too brittle. I would just crack before such cynicism and apathy. good luck and stay the course :)
Didn't you put any self-favoring comments on her desk? You know, like, "Mr. S. is the best history teacher in the world!"
Good for you for not letting her get away with anything. We had to kick a five year-old out of school a couple years ago after one month of terror. He didn't want to be there, he wasn't ready to be there, and the concept of obedience vs. consequences was absolutely foreign to him. I still shudder to think of that month. I wonder which is worse: a naughty five year-old or a naughty fifteen year-old.
danikar, good insights there. I too hope Georgina can get things figured out sooner rather than later. Her life will go much better that way.
Regarding figuring teachers out, I prepare for students like you by arranging my answers in random patterns. I hope it works, but I suppose I'll never know. But asking essay or other free response questions on tests also helps. You can't pick any patterns on those!
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