Like riding a bike

It amazes me how the struggling student struggles because they just sit there and don't try.  In their heads they may even think they are trying but from my perspective it is such a predicter of failure.  When I see a student sit there and not copy down an example of how to do a problem, I know that student has done nothing to learn.  When I encourage the student to follow directions and do the problem or at least copy down how to do it, they sometimes tell me they don't understand and that is why they aren't doing anything.
You don't learn to ride a bike by sitting there and watching others ride a bike.  You have to get both of your feet off the ground and peddle.
Often, the struggling student makes sure to work slow enough to never do the problem.  They walk along side their bike and never throw a leg over it and jump on.
I challenged my struggling students with this analogy.  I desperately want each of them to believe they can learn and want to learn.  Then they each need to follow directions and try the problems.  At a minimum, this means copy down the correct work.  Similar problems are given and with meaningful and successful effort the learning will occur.  I am praying that God will help me reach all of my students.

Dog poop on my shoe

When a student makes a mistake, it is like stepping in dog poop.  When you step in dog poop you notice it right away.  It really stinks and you want to do whatever it takes to get it off the bottom of your shoe right  away.
When a student keeps making the same mistake, it is like they have dog poop on their shoes and they don't even smell the stink anymore.  Our bodies are able to eventually ignore a bad smell if we can't get away from it.  In the same way, students are able to avoid the pain of not understanding math simply by getting used to it.
I challenge my students to clean the dog poop off the bottom of their shoes and let the stench of not understanding and making mistakes really stink again in a fresh new way.  When they make a mistake or they don't understand, it should really stink and bother them.  It should motivate them to learn.  The failing student is so used to not understanding and/or making mistakes, they simply are not bothered by the stench.  The successful student is very sensitive to the stench of a mistake and/or not understanding.  This painful smell motivates these students to learn and develop habits that enable them to avoid mistakes.

Catch them

I have not been writing for quite a while, but school started last Wednesday and I am ready to start writing again.
I have a student two periods a day who failed most all of his classes last year.  He got in a lot of trouble last year.  I am praying that God will use me to help him learn to respect himself and others.  The first day I talked to my classes about forgiveness and confession.  These are essential to maintaining relationship.  I believe learning is best accomplished through good relationships.  If my students learn that I care about them and they start caring about me ... Well look out!  I will call him Julio, this student who has struggled in the past.  He is very distracted and impulsive.  He blurts out answers without much concern for whether they are correct or not.  I have already got to where he is listening to me correct him about being impulsive and he is improving.  Friday he got some problems correct.  He left with a big smile on his face and he even told me that he liked me.  I wrote the principal a positive referral.  He will call Julio down to his office tomorrow and read the positive things I wrote him about Julio and thank him for his great behavior and effort.  Then he will call his parents and do the same.  This is a great idea our new principal has brought to our school... Catch a student doing good and praise him for it.  I can't wait to find out how it went with Julio and his parents!
I can't change lives.  I tell my students that all the time.  I tell them that I want to change their lives, but that is between them and God.  I am not God.