Have You Compromised with Your Students?

November 11th, 2009 By: Diane Trim in Articles, Teachers' Corner

On Monday presenter and former superintendent Suzanne Tingley offered an Inside the School online seminar about Middle School Classroom Management. She talked about the importance of engaging every student, even the middle schooler with a short attention span.

Tingley also has a blog for administrators at Scholastic, Practical Leadership. One of her blog posts, The Compromise, is about the tacit agreement some teachers have with their students. Tingley blogged about educator Theodore Sizer’s book Horace’s Compromise, in which Sizer wrote that some teachers would rather students be quiet than learn.

You know these compromising teachers: it’s Mr. Harris down the hall who’s been on staff for 30 years. He teaches math for 10 or 15 minutes and then gives the class work time while he sits at his desk studying for his real estate exam. Students can count on his class for a study hall.

It’s the health teacher who comes to class late and leaves early because he’s working on his football team’s strategy for the next big game. His seniors don’t tell because they like the quiet social hour.

It’s the new teacher who has never had a student who attended class under court order. The student has an ankle monitor and a history of attacking his teachers. The new teacher teaches the rest of the class Shakespeare and poetry. She allows the other kid to rest his head on his desk the entire time.

Wait. That last teacher was me. Fifteen years ago, Brandon and I had this compromise. I remember being relieved about it. Yeah, I did him no favors. I made Brandon’s life no better. He came away from my class with an F and no education. But I was young, terrified, and I didn’t have the skills or experience to deal with Brandon and his anger.

It’s not a great excuse, I know, but I wonder how many of us are quietly making Sizer’s compromise because we didn’t think we had other options. As I look back, I know what would have helped me to cajole Brandon into learning. Here’s my list:

• More classroom management and discipline strategies in my toolbox
• An administration that recognized that I would need help teaching Brandon and offered me support
• Team meetings where teachers would talk about what’s working for Brandon and what’s not
• A personal connection to Brandon
• Experience and confidence

I left that teaching situation before Brandon’s senior year. It’s my understanding that he didn’t graduate.

What else might have helped Brandon? Let’s make a list in the comments area to help other teachers be strong and not compromise.

Tags: behavior, Classroom Management