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?