I have a notoriously lazy, stubborn student in my lowest level class for today. All the teachers know he’s a total pain in the butt to have in class, but there isn’t much you can do. As long as he keeps coming to class and paying the bill, he’s going to be there. He’s much younger than his classmates, but isn’t going to be placed in a level more suitable for his age. He’s even worse when he’s feeling bored and unchallenged.
When I taught him Tuesday, he had gotten me so frustraited I had him escorted out of class. He is a walking ball of smug wasted potential. He could do so much, yet he wants to get in everyone’s way. He had to watch the lesson for ten minutes outside, via video, before he was allowed back in the room to write down the homework. Everyone has to do that together, but he ran out of the room before I could check to see he had actually written down what he was supposed to do.
I ran into his brother, who I also teach and really like, and passed on a message to their mother that the boy got in trouble and hadn’t been doing his homework. The message got through, and today he had his homework done, but did everything else in his power to be an obnoxious little ass.
He was being watched on the camera, so he knew he had to sit down all the class. This is the only single thing he did the entire day. He had no pencil. A classmate gave him a pencil, but he refused it until I made him keep it to use. He wouldn’t turn the page of his book. He wouldn’t read. He wouldn’t answer any question, in English from me, or in Korean from his classmates, other than by saying, “I don’t know,” in Korean over and over again. If that really was the case, he should be moved down, but everyone knows he’s just doing it to be annoying. I’m lobbying really hard for him to be “left behind” when we level students next term. It’s worked for some other students, and it might get through to him too.
Even his classmates were like, “Wow, you’re an immature ass today.” His classmates are 9, and aren’t exactly refined. Even THEY thought he was being immature. They said my face was red trying to explain a simple thing to the boy. Why bother? He didn’t want to learn. I didn’t get violent, but even raising my blood pressure to bother with the inanity of his behavior wasn’t worth it.
I decided I had a new approach. “There are five students in this class, and you. You are no longer worth my time. I will teach the five other students. You will sit and be in your own little universe. Do the homework when I check. Don’t bother us. They want to learn. You don’t. Be quiet. Sit.”
It was the last time I addressed him other than to check that he had properly written down all of his homework.
He “got my goat” today. My director said that it’s a fight not worth fighting, and that he’s too stubborn to bother trying to change. I said as long as he doesn’t bother anyone else and does the homework, he can sit in the class. I plan on learning how to use the video system in the school so I can make sure when I toss him out in the future he won’t miss anything and I won’t have to bother anyone else.
I think I’ve got to approach him a bit like a “finger trap”. As soon as I start pushing, I get stuck. I’ll just keep my finger away from the problem. When he gets annoying, I toss him out to watch me via video. He still gets his chance to learn, and he can’t bother anyone.
