Teacher appreciation week gone wrong
This past week was Teacher Appreciation Week. And here’s a story on why it went so terribly wrong.
It all started a few years ago when I met a student , let’s call this student Jamie. Jamie’s mom came to me when Jamie was in middle school asking for help to get her up to speed in math class. Jamie joined one of my group sessions and mom and I quickly learned that it was not quite what she needed. We moved Jamie to a solo session (I took on more hours tutoring to help Jamie get to where she needed to be in math class).
Jamie unfortunately did not improve by much. It seems that she had other things on her mind during class time and tutoring time. Now I must stress that Jamie does have trouble remembering new things that she’s learned. While it takes time for most students, and they have to practice their math concepts to really nail them in, Jamie needs to practice even more than the other students.
After a few months of consistent tutoring, Jamie was able to make it to a better place in math class. Mom said that they will take a break from tutoring and revisit if she needs more help again later. Which, you guessed it, Jamie did.
We again started with a group session, that’s all that was available. And we slowly moved to a solo session a few months after that. It seemed to work, the individualized attention. But then something happened. Jamie thought that since she was doing so well in math class, it would be ok for her to stop listening the teachers lessons and just wait for me to teach her.
BIG MISTAKE
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times. You don’t get the beach body you want by not eating ice cream once. You have to consistently eat healthy and work out your body to get the results you want. The sam applies with math and any other school subject you’re struggling in.
Meeting with a tutor once a week does not replace learning in the classroom. Meeting with a tutor once a week is a SUPPLEMENT to the learning in the classroom.
This week Jamie came into my office in a very happy mood. She said that her grade for her last math test came in. I was excited to hear what she got. I should not have been as excited as I was. She ended up with a 65%. And she was happy! She thought that was a C grade.
And so we got to work on some homework problems that were assigned the previous day. Jamie proceeded to tell me that she tried to see the board but there was someone tall sitting in front of her and she couldn’t see it. Jamie proceeded to tell me that she tried to listen to the teacher but he was “just so boring” that she couldn’t find it in her to do so. Jamie proceeded to tell me that she just “doesn’t understand” how to do the work. Jamie proceeded to tell me that she was on her phone during her math class.
And that’s when it happened
That’s when I decided that we were no longer going to do math for the rest of the session. That’s when we had our heart to heart talk.
I was firm but fair during this conversation. I explained to Jamie that 65% on a test is not acceptable. I explained to Jamie that homework should be attempted before you see the tutor. I explained to Jamie that she would have been able to attempt the homework if she didn’t use her phone for pleasure in class, and instead used a math app like Desmos to help her graph her homework problems. I explained to Jamie that if she didn’t start listening and if she didn’t shape up, she would end up with a much lower grade in math class than a 65% in math class.
While I’m not sure if she understood the severity of the situation, I wonder about a lot of things in this situation.
I have been tutoring for a long time. I was tutoring all subjects as a Junior in high school to some of the local neighborhood kids. Without giving my age too much, it’s been more than a quarter of a century ago. I’ve seen a lot of change over the years. I started tutoring in a time when students respected their teachers, when students didn’t have cell phones, when students knew that a 65% was basically an F, and when students had a desire to be better than their peers.
In today’s classrooms, students are allowed to be on their cell phones?! I’m still wrapping my head around teachers not being allowed to put student phones into phone jail. (I do not have this issue in my office since all of the parents contact me if there is an issue/emergency.) The teachers are competing with a small handheld piece of technology that captures the students attention so much more than a teacher can. Why is that allowed in the classroom? Why are we allowing our students to have a cell phone out in a classroom?!
I do not label myself as the best teacher in the world, I’m sure that there are better teachers. But as a tutor I am not governed by local, state or even federal government rules. I am governed by myself. And I am urging parents of students who are not doing well in their classes to remove the cell phones from their kids. To somehow put a block on their cell phone using power during classes.
This behavior is unacceptable. Let me repeat that once more to sink in: This behavior is unacceptable.
We send students to school to learn, and if students are paying attention to a piece of technology more than they are to a teacher, then why do we not send students to their bedrooms and allow the cell phone to teach them? Why were parents in an uproar when a few years ago teachers were teaching remotely. Is there really a difference between a few years ago of remote learning and the classrooms today?
As we finish up teacher appreciation week, I’d like to ask you about how you have appreciated your teachers? How have your children appreciated their teachers? Is giving a box of cookies or a mug really the appreciation they deserve? (Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure they were delicious, but is that what they really need to help them get through the last few weeks of school?)
Think about this as you head into the weekend with your children:
- What can “Jamie” do to help herself get to a better grade/level of understanding in her math classroom?
- What can “Jamie” do show her teacher that she really is grateful that he is teaching her?