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Oct
13
“Look”, I told her “If you don’t hand anything in , I can’t give you marks. Hand something in so I can give you marks.” It’s six weeks into the semester and she hasn’t handed in any assignments -an old pattern, Ive seen before- lots of excuses, lots of promises, lots of shrugged shoulders. What’s the point of yelling at her and telling her she’ll fail if she doesn’t hand in her work. She knows that. That’s not news to her. She’s failed many times. She thinks pretty soon I’ll give up on her- an old pattern she’s seen before. But, I won’t. I’ll keep telling her that I am looking for ways to give her marks, but she has to help me by handing in the work I assign.
Why do I choose this strategy? Because it works for me. Kids will help me give them marks by handing in work. I am constantly saying that in class. Hand in your work so I can give you marks. If you don’t hand anything in, I can’t give you marks. Hand in you or work blah blah blah. I sound like a broken record.
Listen to these two statements. First statement: help me give you marks by handing in your work. Ok, now listen to the second statement: your going to fail if you don’t hand in your work. Hear the difference? At risk kids think that teachers are out to fail them. I think they are surprised when a teacher is looking to give them marks. I know it’s just words, but businesses spend zillions of dollars finding the right words to get us to do what they want us to do. Words are important. The kids need to believe that you are on their side, and then they are more likely to do the assignment. Try it. You’ll see.
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4 Responses to “Hand Your Work In So I Can Give You Some Marks”
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That’s a wonderful method, instead of asserting your authority into a ‘me/you’ frame you put yourself on their side instead.
What you do doesn’t sound easy but I applaud you for doing it!
Alvin, my method is easier for me. I don’t get angry when I’m looking to give them marks. I get angry when I tell them they are going to fail if they don’t hand in the work. By looking for marks I am focusing on the positive. By telling them they are going to fail, I’m focusing on the negative. My mental and physical health is much better when I focus on the positive. That’s how I cope. I’ve learned the hard way to I look for the positive.
[...] Elona gives you a method on how to talk so your kids will listen with Hand Your Work In So I Can Give You Some Marks. [...]
[...] What a coincidence. I was poking around on the net this morning taking a break from developing a lesson plan about the periodic table when I found this article by Daniel Goldberg about emotional intelligence. What a surprise! Last Friday, in response to Alvin’s kind comment I wrote that I found it better for my physical and mental health to maintain a positive attitude in my classroom. [...]