Response to Classmate's Blog

This is a response to Susan's blog from March 30, 2009:

Yes! Attitude has to be the number one factor here. I know that I wrote about the lack of motivation among teenage boys (shown in the study Boys Adrift by Dr. Leonard Sax...awesome study, go check it out, especially if you have boys), but this issue is so key to our future I think. Sax states that in 1949, 82% of the undergraduates at American universities were men. In 2008, that number is more like 42%. Fewer and fewer boys are going to school and those that are in high school right now see school as only an insignificant precursor to whatever they're doing after school...when they're real day begins. This is the time for them to play video games, be with friends, or indulge in drugs or alcohol.

Susan is absolutely write when she says the factors that shape a student's attitudes...teacher's roles in this should be to continue to motivate that kid...I would rather work with a below average student who truly gives his best every time than a smart kid who is just lazy and won't do the work.

Can I indulge myself for a moment?

OK, thanks.

My proudest moment as an educator was when I was teaching a class of lower level juniors the skills necessary for the HSPAs...most of the kids had IEPs or 504s and one of the girls was pulled out by the child study team and told she was going to be exempt from taking the HSPAs. Her response was no, she didn't want to be, because Mr. Craig would be disappointed in me and he's worked too hard to give me what I need to pass the test. I was floored. And I only knew about it because a friend of mine was the special ed teacher in the room for the meeting. The student never told me. When I found out, I told her how proud I was of her. That's the type of kid who can do anything, I think. She had the right attitude but maybe not all the skills, but she got there and she eventually passed by a pretty wide margin. I think this is what Susan is getting at when she talks about attitude. If every kid had this girl's attitude, I think a lot of our problems would get a lot smaller.