Chapters 10-12

Reading chapter 10, I got a little down. Shoot, according to the author, I have been an entirely ineffective teacher for underachievers! Nothing I have done in the past - or even the school, for that matter - will work with the underachievers. Tutoring, rewards, punishments, study skills... these will not help the root cause. Can we, then, affect them at all? I think yes. I think of some of the underachievers I've had and even if their parents aren't involved, having a teacher (or more) who does make the effort for them will stand out even if we don't see the fruits in middle school. I'm ready to start organizing the solutions into ways I can use in the classroom.

I did like how his method is simple questioning, along the Love & Logic theme. Help the student identify where the "failure" occurred. Take away all the excuses. They will discover their own mistakes. And this may take awhile - lose the battles to win the war, as he says. This got me to thinking about our 8th grade lunch bunch, the "won'ts" who we are trying to motivate. Taking away their lunch period or giving them a place to do their work - according to this book, that's not going to motivate them. Ever. Perhaps we try a "motivational" group?

Not stopping a thief...

Sorry, I don't have page #'s or the exact quote (book is not in front of me), but the thing that struck me in this section as I was reading was the author's thoughts about kids not turning in work and/or not succeeding. It really got to me, because it made me rethink a lot of what I do. He compared an unsuccessful student to a thief...a thief who isn't caught won't change on his/her own, they just become a better thief. While I try to help students work through why they aren't turning in work, a lot of times I'll just say to myself that they're choosing not to do it, and I can't change that choice. So...how am I contributing to them becoming a better underachiever (is that possible...a better underachiever? If they become better at it, aren't they achieving at something?) He mentions time and time again that holding kids responsible is key, which I think we all do, but breaking the cycle of underachievement is not an easy task!

Chapters 4-10

Greetings, I apologize for being behind and hope to do Chapters 10-12 soon. Here are some observations of underachievers. P.47 Sets the premise facing one's identity is natural in the journey from childhood to adulthood. However, looking at Procrastinators through to Con-Artists what appears to be true to me, unconscious or not, all have p.46 substituted excuses and denials of responsibilities for insight, self-knowledge and effective action in life. For me, the question continues to be, if and how we make a difference for our students who fall into these categories and our parents who are key players, especially since most of us have operated from the belief that these young people "know" what they are doing. How do we help our students recognize and change their unhealthy ways of handling their reality and relationships and work toward long term healthier choices? This is where I see Love and Logic techniques as an advantage in helping us all be more consistent, persistent and patient.

This past year I think I made some headway helping a couple of my hidden perfectionist - endless questioners - to take more responsibility or perhaps I only diverted them to asking others as I encouraged them to share the answers to their own questions they already knew and said trust yourself without me repeating my directions or whatever. A key in helping us all may be to be good active listeners...to hear underlying causes instead of just dealing with symptoms. Again a Love and Logic strategy that may be helpful in some problem instances may be to say to students I am going to have to do something about this and then delay our response which will allow us time to perhaps dialogue privately with students and provide more connected to the problem consequences, strategies for healthy change and/or recognition of responsibilities.

P.89 spoke to my desire to greet students as they arrive and connect as they leave...to show I care about them individually. I believe it makes a positive difference for our students if they feel we genuinely like them no matter the grade they are earning. However, I know this is not new news. The last two categories were of greatest concern to me. Depression results are always a concern and today I feel we have more depressed students than ever before. I for one could always use a refresher on the signs of depression so I am less likely to miss this deep underlying cause or add to it. How about entitlement and Con Artists...is this on the rise? I continue to have concerns for both our parents and young people who seem to be missing the acceptance of their own responsibilities. Strategies...?

Parents have great influence in these various categories. How do we communicate and educate what we are learning with our parents? One at a time, parent coffee, invite and encourage groups of parents to read this book and dialogue as we are or...other ideas? How do we help parents who are modeling some of these styles or help other parents let go so their students can become more independent or...?

Well, all the above being said, I pray thanksgiving for each one of you that I have privilege to work with you. We care, we work at improving our expertise and we make a difference for our students and parents daily. Thanks for who you are and your willingness to help me to grow. Hope your summer is relaxing and filled with just what you need. Blessings, J

Underachiever Alice

While I have encountered all three types mentioned, Alice is the one I see most often in my classes. The child who sits in class like a lump, doesn't turn anything in, parents appear to not know what to do. And my reaction, after weeks or a couple months of encouragement, is the same as the counselor gave Alice's parents - just let them fail. They'll learn the consequences, they'll be motivated by failure. That hasn't worked yet - and wow, did this author point out how wrong I am in just shrugging my shoulders.

Trouble is - we as teachers need to help get to the root of the problem. If the difficulties are feelings of inadequacy, or need for approval, or the fact that certain attitudes are modeled at home - how to discover those within the student? Prompt 2 asks if children are aware of these behaviors. I struggle with this. My gut instinct is yes. These kids know what they're doing, they make conscious decisions to not turn things in or to not complete their work at home. How could they not? But the author relates the story of the kid (p. 42) who truly didn't know why he didn't hand in a project, but after leading him through the choices, he acknowledged he didn't think his was good enough. I can see a couple of current students reflected in that story. But it's hard for me to look at the underachievers I have and say that they're unaware of their behavior.

Post #1 Chapters 1-3 Prompt B

Do you agree that underachievers are unaware of this behavior?

Post #1 Chapters 1-3 Prompt A

Of the three underachievers which one do you identify with or deal with most often?
(A Nice Young Man, Talk Show Host or The Silent Child)

The Book is......

Bright Minds, Poor Grades

http://www.amazon.com/Bright-Minds-Poor-Grades-Underachieving/dp/0399527052/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240255378&sr=1-1

Important Dates:
1st Post – June 1st
Complete by June 28th

2nd Post – June 22nd
Complete by July 20th

3rd Post – July 13th
Complete by August 10th

4th Post – August 3rd
All posting completed by August 31, 2009