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Newark Public Schools

For Teachers:
Full coverage of Education Insights

September 5, 2001

Editor's note: Julie taught a summer school class of third graders in Newark, New Jersey--a city that continuously does poorly on statewide and national standardized tests.

Week Five - How to stay motivated?

I got hit with a spitball this morning at breakfast, and went off. My kids do not know how to behave. I am mean. I am nice. It does not make a difference. Maybe it is the inconsistency. I need to start fresh with a new class and shower them with love from the beginning.

Jack went to war today with division. I have to respect him. That's tough stuff. Half of the kids will call out, "That's easy!" (thereby discouraging the kids for whom the material is difficult), and the other half resign themselves to "I can't do it." I'm really tired of them not trying and saying, "I can't."

If I knew better at the beginning, I would have spent the first day of school doing all sorts of team building, motivational stories and games. Because the kids are not dumb. The problem is that they are not motivated.

When Jack gave the kids a set of division problems to do, I sat with Rodney and moved him through the problems, every inch of the way.

It took us 10 minutes to solve 29 divided by 7. He doesn't have his times tables memorized. This does not exactly help me. I don't have support from the home in this case. This makes my job ten times harder and essentially ineffective.

Sometimes I wonder why I bother. He is going to stay back in third grade. Why don't I just focus on the other kids? I care. I will not leave a child behind. I cannot do that.

Learning more about respect

On our way in from lunch, I had more problems with misbehavior. It took ten minutes for the kids to settle down and form a line to go inside. They continued to fool around with each other, poke and push each other, and sound off with their mouths.

So, we went inside, and I had a discussion with them. I sat on a desk at the front of the room and pointedly asked them why they misbehaved. My speech went something like this:

"It's been five weeks. We have had at least that many talks about respect. You have written essays on what you should and should not to do. I have never helped you with those essays. That means you know right from wrong. So now tell me why we push and cut in line and insult each other while Mr. Jack and I are waiting for you?"

I said all of this in a very calm, yet firm voice. I was not mad; I was hurt. The room was quiet and solemn. I decided that we would not go on with the afternoon's plans until we figured out this root cause of misbehavior. I drew a chart on the board.

It is not because Jack and I are not respectful. It is not because we set bad examples. Someone suggested it's because they just want to play more. Lisa told me that we give too much work.

So, I consider that they are children and understandably want to have fun; it must be hard to go to school year-round. Then a light bulb goes off in my head. And I tell the kids something to the effect of this:

"Now, remember this. One day a week, you go up to Kids Camp. And on Tuesdays you spend half the day at the pool. So, Mr. Jack and I only teach you for 3 ½ days per week. You all need to go to fourth grade.

"Third grade starts in September and goes until June. That is ten months. That is 180 days. You learn third grade stuff for 180 days. Now, I have 3 ½ days times 6 weeks equals 21 days to re-teach you everything that you learned in third grade and get you to pass."

A couple of kids don't get it. I repeat myself, slowly. "I have to teach you one year's worth of stuff in 21 days.

" They are all dumbfounded. "Now, who wants to play checkers?" I ask. Not a single hand is raised. "Thank you," I say, triumphantly. "So, let's talk about vowel sounds…"

Names have been changed to protect student and teacher privacy.