Teaching Tips & Tricks | Feb 16, 2013
Should the toughest kids be assigned to the best teachers?
By Angela Watson
Founder and Writer
Should the toughest kids be assigned to the best teachers?
By Angela Watson
You know exactly which kids I’m talking about here–their faces appeared in your mind’s eye as soon as you read the blog post title. These are the kids who are violent and relentlessly disruptive in class, the ones who have a reputation throughout the school as being incredibly difficult to handle.
Each spring, the teacher’s lounge is filled with speculation over who will get each of those kids the following year…and in many schools, it’s a highly predictable pattern. The teachers with the best classroom management skills get the toughest kids. And every year, those teachers say, “I don’t know if I can take another class like this one. I need a break. I can’t keep doing this year after year.”
Sometimes the principals listen and spread out the toughest kids among multiple classrooms in a grade level, but many times, they don’t, and the teachers who used to be amazing become mediocre because they have nothing left to give. They stop researching new activities in the evenings because all they have the energy to do at night is sleep. They show up at school early to plan meaningful learning experiences, and then get so disgusted with breaking up student fights all morning long that they put on a movie in the afternoon and call it a day. They don’t have the energy for the hands-on activities they used to do, so they pass out worksheets.
I’m not saying that response is right. What I’m saying is that it’s happening, in thousands of classrooms all across the country. Our best teachers are burning out from bearing too much of the burden. I understand the need to place students with the best possible teacher for them. The problem is that teachers with strong classroom management skills often feel like they are being punished by getting the most challenging students year after year after year. It doesn’t matter that it’s not intended as a punishment. It feels that way when your job is knowingly made 100 times harder than the job of your colleagues simply because “you can handle it.”
What happens when you can’t handle it anymore? And what happens when the grouping of students interferes with the entire class’ education? I can think of two years in particular during my teaching career when I considered it a miracle that the rest of the class learned anything because my attention was so focused on the third of the class who had constant meltdowns. It absolutely broke my heart to see some of my sweet, hard working kids get less attention and assistance because I had to spend every spare second heading off their peers’ violent outbursts. No child should go to school each day in fear of being harmed by other kids in the class, or be unable to get the individualized learning they need because the teacher is constantly attending to severe behavior problems.
I don’t know of any clear cut solutions. I’m wary of principals burdening brand new teachers with students they know will be challenging–the teacher attrition rate is already astronomical. Some of these kids are so challenging that a new teacher would probably leave the profession before the year is out.
I also don’t want to see high needs students suffer under the leadership of a teacher who is unable to handle them. Maybe schools need to provide more professional development to teachers so they are equipped to handle a wide range of student needs and behavioral issues. It’s rare that a district acknowledges how much classroom management issues interfere with student learning: PD in most schools is centered around improving test scores and implementing curriculum. I did work in one district that allowed principals to identify teachers who struggle classroom management skills and provided extra training through CHAMPS, which is an excellent program, but the change in those teachers’ classrooms was negligible. Without ongoing, individualized support, the results are not going to be transformative. And some kids are just so disruptive that all the PD in the world is not going to prevent the average teacher from being exhausted by 9 a.m. on a daily basis.
Is the solution to get rid of teachers who aren’t able to handle their students? How would we identify those teachers in a fair way? Many of them are not “bad” teachers and are perfectly capable of educating the majority of the student population, they just aren’t prepared to manage the type of kids who throw desks when they’re frustrated and threaten to stab any adult who dares to correct them. Let’s be real: some of these students have no business being thrown into a general education classroom with little to no support. I don’t think it’s fair to blame the teacher for not being able to handle such extreme behaviors in addition to, you know, actually teaching the other 29 kids in the class.
So maybe this brings us to the heart of the issue: schools need to figure out how to meet these tough kids’ needs, instead of tossing them in the classroom with teachers who are expected to manage on their own. These students deserve small class sizes, psychological counseling, ongoing social skills/coping strategies support through small group sessions with the school guidance counselor, and so on. Some of these students even need individual one-on-one behavioral aides. But these resources take money, and schools just don’t have it.
Where does that leave us? If all outside factors–teacher training, special services, class sizes, and so on–stay exactly the same, what should principals do? Should all the toughest kids go to the teachers with the best classroom management skills? How does this work in your school?
Angela Watson
Founder and Writer
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I have to say that it’s nice to know I’m not the only one who feels this way. As a veteran teacher, I and some fellow teachers are constantly being told that “we can handle it” and that “we are the child’s last chance”. I am always rearranging seating arrangements in my classroom to combat potential behavior problems. I still plan hands on activities, but have to make sure that I position myself closest to “those kids”. And, even though, I am reassured that I will have support, I don’t feel that way.
One thing I have to do early on is make parental contact to let parents know I am on their side, many times I am the first positive contact they’ve had in a while. This helps me set the stage with the kids, they know that I’m not going to give in to them and let them run they show; this makes it easier for me when I have to send a referral because I can show that I’ve tried with them.
Great post! I am one of those teachers who has become exhausted. School districts cannot hold on to good teachers because of this exact occurrence. Although it is a compliment, it also is the beginning of the end. I do not blame great teachers when they decide for their own well-being they must leave the profession. It’s sad. It’s a shame. But, I empathize immensely with their courage to know when enough is enough and finally put themselves first. In order for this cycle to stop, all teachers need to have strong behavior management, PD, mentors, and support in order to help these types of children and create a positive, nurturing work environment where teachers can grow and be challenged without exhaustion. Ill be praying on this educational issue
No one would have passed Michael Jordon the ball if they didn’t think he could make a basket. Yes it’s exhausting, yes it’s fustrating, but I think soldiers fighting a war have it tougher, even child birth was worse than the worse kid I’ve dealt with. I’ve been kicked and a chair thrown at me. I don’t give up on them, after all, we are the adults here, not them. I spend hours researching better ways to get through to them. If I see 25 students and 5 are struggling…That 5 should get more attention. The other 20 “get it”. They understand there is a weakness among their class and everyone should be coming together to strenghen the weakest. Peer help is an option. Students love to help and are more willing to listen to a peer. Everyone I hope remembers their own childhood and education. I hear quotes come out of my mouth from my past teachers, grandmothers and mother when I’m trying to get through to a struggling child. Try and stay on the positive side of it. Remember the defintion of insane is, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. We need to support each other better. Don’t give up. If your own school won’t support you, than reach out to the internet, it’s overflowing with resorces. Pinterest is a great place to go for one stop inspiration. It’s not all about lectures and worksheets. You may be the only person in that childs life that ever really cares. The best teachers teach from the heart, not from the book.
I love your attitude. Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re right.
This is my youngest daughter who is 7 and in first grade…She has a wonderful teacher that she was purposely placed with because she could handle her…with HELP. I had to fight to get an IEP for her because my daughter is at the top of the District in Math (Doing division in 1st grade and also 5th grade reading) After a horrible Kindergarten year we had to fight and dig our feet in to get her help on many fronts and to make sure the teacher had assistance for those “Bad” days.. We come from a family of teachers all who have had the worst and the best classes. We have plans A B and C in place to assist the teacher with administration help. The answer is not JUST the teachers but the Parents and also finding affordable mental health therapy and care so that everyone is pointed in the correct direction…and trying to get help before the situation becomes much much worse. We have had extensive testing done because the administration was just washing thier hands of her and wouldn’t assist us. $6000 more in debt and we know more in the process. PLEASE don’t look at “Handling” these problem students as punishment but rather know you CAN make a difference in a little life. It will be a long haul for this sweet little girl that cant process so many emotions when she is overwhelmed. We will not stop trying to make a difference for her and any other child in our community… There needs to be a plan in EVERY school for assisting with these matters and actual follow through. It does take a community of help and we are just realizing this as parents that it will be a long painful process that we are hoping in time diminishes to feed this bright, loving, sensitive girl in a word that is often unfair. Bless you all
I’ve been on both sides of special needs children (teaching and parenting). I have had far more frustration with getting my own child services and finding information that is accurate and useful, than dealing with any child in my class. I CAN handle special needs kids with no problem, as long as my class is not overcrowded. The problem comes with having several special needs children in the class with minimal or no support from the administration or special ed resources that are supposed to be in place. The largest problem is that of the several children who have special needs, there are few with IEP’s because their parents refuse to allow them to be tested or to get services.The children with IEP’s are not a problem for me, because it means there’s parent support AND services. I wish you the very best with your daughter, and hope that you continue to have supportive teachers. Parents like you are a teacher’s dream, because we never feel that we’re the child’s only advocates. We can be partners.
A lot of food for thought here. I understand school organizations vary from country to country, and here in France the way we make classes and appoint teachers is probably different. But the bias is quite similar, and the difficult kids certainly can be found everywhere. The big hypocrisy in the institution and in the political system consists in telling parents: “No problem, your child will be fine with us, we can handle the situation” instead of speaking the truth. Of course it is not politically correct to tell them: “In fact your kid is a nuisance for the rest of the class, why don’t YOU try homeschooling?”. As if the governments asked us not only to teach teachable students, but also to keep the wild ones inside for fear they misbehave outside.
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