Occasionally, students act like they don’t care when they are really looking for an adult that does care. I know you do. Try journal writing with no specific prompt, just try to get them to write for five minutes, then ten. You may get insight this way. Or give such a “shocking” prompt they will be tempted to respond– something about authority or rules maybe. Another idea might be to ask them to take photographs then tell a poster story about anything they want. Give specific praise only when really deserved. Let them warm up to you- don’t ignore them but don’t be eager to connect. I think attention span needs to be increased in segments and provide a variety of short activities. Do ten-fifteen minutes of one part of the curriculum, do something else , and return to finish the first assignment. Keep the rule simple and be firm with consequences. Sometimes reverse psychology works, ” I don’t want to be here either, but let’s make the best of it.” I hope you see a spark if not fireworks.

Andrea, I`ve been wanting an answer to that question for years myself ! I always tried to find their interests, and listened to what they had to say about it. It didn`t matter what the interest was, sex, drugs, cars, anything as long as they would talk about it. Let them talk, don`t be judgemental, listen to what they have to say.I was surprised at many of their interests, and at their depth of knowledge about it. It was the only way that I could find of communicating with them, and it did seem to break down that barrier that exists between the disaffected child and their teacher, which can only be good.One word of advice from an old hand though, expect nothing from your teaching……. anything you do get is a bonus! And you will get something……… probably something totally unexpected. Good luck, Twiggy

i’m an english teacher here in the philippines. based from my experiece, i think, all students want to learn… even retards and special children. the problem with us teachers, we tend to make the students conform to our standards, rules and expectations… while students think the same… students expect us to be like this and like that…

i think, yes, you haven’t got their attention so you need to motivate them. as a teacher, i learned that it’s not the motivation that matters. it’s how you are able to attack and arouse the intellect of your students. first, i think, you have to work on your personality… are you friendly, strict or what? think. what your students need? a strict teacher or a friendly one? second, maintain your desired personality. know your students… have you been to their houses? have you eaten burger with them? have you talked about the ants? fart? ingrown?sex? it’s important that you treat them as a struggling being of this complex world. i think, teachers just need encouragement… we need “key” to unlock something. the key is in our heart. AS TEACHERS, WE HAVE TO SEE FIRST THE BEAUTY DEEP WITHIN US. WE ARE THE CHOSEN ONES TO CREATE IMPACT AND CHANGES ON THE LIVES OF EVERY PERSON. by realizing that, we learn to appreciate our students. see, in your sentences… you desbribed your students negatively… excluded? expelled? have long attention span? i think, you haven’t seen the beauty inside them. so it’s hard for you to communicate with tem.

sorry for that comment. it’s just a comment. it’s just an opinion.

WHATEVER IT IS, IN SOME GIVEN TIMES, TEACHERS SHOULD NOT LISTEN TO WHAT KNOWLEDGE IS AVAILABLE IN THIS EARTH. TEACHER TEACHES BY HEART.

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