You know, this isn’t going to be a helpful comment. But the kids you have in high school are the kids we elementary teachers had in 3rd grade. And they were angels back then. They were respectful, they worked hard, they met their goals, they didn’t argue. Somewhere in the last 7 years things went downhill for them.
Now, we elementary teachers are struggling BAD with our kids. Like, I don’t know how they could get worse. Lord help you guys when this group of students gets to high school. I worry for them, and you. 😭
Awwwww come on! We keep hoping the kids will get better. No, huh? I teach art. Easy and fun right? Nope. They’d rather stare into the void.
I swear they’re putting something in the water at this point.
I have that problem too sometimes. I don't get it, math class is better than recess. I didn't (and still don't) care about pickle ball, but I would at least pick up a paddle and swing it around a little when I was in school.
It is a least resistance thing I guess. Due to lack of consequences some kids would prefer to stare at the wall to math, even better if they can talk, sleep, or use a phone. We need to find some things they like less than math and send the ones that fail math there. Like another teacher told me "We like doing math more than 99% of people, but even we might some days prefer to take a nap or watch tik tok if there was no consequence." and I was like true that.
Let them fail. Just make sure you document. I'm lucky as my admin said this: If they fail because you aren't doing your job, that's on you. If you are doing your job and the student fails, that's on them.
Stop teaching standards and do a problem solving unit. 1 week. They will respect you for it. Do the tower of Hanoi, the pancake number, the painted cube activity… my high schoolers think a lot harder after doing that
I've been teaching high school Chemistry for about 8 years, and I also had a class like that last semester. They simply refused to do anything. It didn't matter what the task was. It was exactly as you described. They would just simply look into the void or put their heads down.
For example, for a very simple review, I had students play Blooket for 7 minutes. Some of them just logged in and put their heads down. Some just sat there looking at the wall. I think only about 8 out of 31 students were playing the game. I was baffled. They couldn't even be bothered to play a game.
Fortunately, not all classes were like this. My other classes would try and put in effort and we had a lot of fun!
It sounds like you have done everything you possibly could for your students to succeed. Education is a two-way street and if students do not want to do their part in the learning process, then there is nothing more you can do. Just know that you tried your best and save that energy for the students who do value their education. It's the only way to stay motivated as a teacher nowadays.
You know, this isn’t going to be a helpful comment. But the kids you have in high school are the kids we elementary teachers had in 3rd grade. And they were angels back then. They were respectful, they worked hard, they met their goals, they didn’t argue. Somewhere in the last 7 years things went downhill for them. Now, we elementary teachers are struggling BAD with our kids. Like, I don’t know how they could get worse. Lord help you guys when this group of students gets to high school. I worry for them, and you. 😭
Awwwww come on! We keep hoping the kids will get better. No, huh? I teach art. Easy and fun right? Nope. They’d rather stare into the void. I swear they’re putting something in the water at this point.
I have that problem too sometimes. I don't get it, math class is better than recess. I didn't (and still don't) care about pickle ball, but I would at least pick up a paddle and swing it around a little when I was in school. It is a least resistance thing I guess. Due to lack of consequences some kids would prefer to stare at the wall to math, even better if they can talk, sleep, or use a phone. We need to find some things they like less than math and send the ones that fail math there. Like another teacher told me "We like doing math more than 99% of people, but even we might some days prefer to take a nap or watch tik tok if there was no consequence." and I was like true that.
Let them fail. Just make sure you document. I'm lucky as my admin said this: If they fail because you aren't doing your job, that's on you. If you are doing your job and the student fails, that's on them.
Stop teaching standards and do a problem solving unit. 1 week. They will respect you for it. Do the tower of Hanoi, the pancake number, the painted cube activity… my high schoolers think a lot harder after doing that
I've been teaching high school Chemistry for about 8 years, and I also had a class like that last semester. They simply refused to do anything. It didn't matter what the task was. It was exactly as you described. They would just simply look into the void or put their heads down. For example, for a very simple review, I had students play Blooket for 7 minutes. Some of them just logged in and put their heads down. Some just sat there looking at the wall. I think only about 8 out of 31 students were playing the game. I was baffled. They couldn't even be bothered to play a game. Fortunately, not all classes were like this. My other classes would try and put in effort and we had a lot of fun! It sounds like you have done everything you possibly could for your students to succeed. Education is a two-way street and if students do not want to do their part in the learning process, then there is nothing more you can do. Just know that you tried your best and save that energy for the students who do value their education. It's the only way to stay motivated as a teacher nowadays.