I’m working in a private language school with the students of different age groups. No surprise that the most troublesome ones are teenagers. One thing that bothers me the most and that makes me feel unwell is lack of leverages that would force them to do what I ask them to do as a home task. While I can act as a kind of leverage in the classroom engaging and involving them into activities, I can do very little to activate their work at home. Competing with social networks and other more exiting activities is tough. Their inability to manage time efficiently adds to the problem.
They don’t need to get good marks. I don’t want their parents to push them (they’ve already done that when brought them to our school). I definitely can’t punish them and drive out of the class. I’m not going to shout at them nor abuse them. I can’t move on without being sure they more or less got the topic—I want them to grow, not just move from unit to unit. I know they can do better and I want them to do so.
No-one says I am a perfect teacher, but I do try to engage them in a number of different ways. What hinders my efforts is that they only last 3 hours a week whereas the degrading environment surrounds them for the rest of time. I don’t want to change them, I simply want to make them think. Think about something else than fun and pleasure.
Now to the essence. The idea is taken from the psychological book and lies in putting their obligations (e.g. to do the home task) in written with witnesses present. This might appeal to their pride and hopefully will teach them keep their word. This is so very important in the adult world they are striving for. So, I suggest something like:
“I, First name, Last name confirm that I have written down the home task for dd/mm/yyyy and promise to do it in full under any circumstances dependent on me (force-majeure excluded).
If for any reason I fail to fulfill this promise, I—
– will not put blame on the circumstances or other people and agree to bear all responsibility herein.
– will state that my word is worth nothing and I don’t deserve to be trusted.
– will apologize to the classmates and the teacher and explain the true reason for not following my promise.
– will ask my classmates not to talk to me in the next lesson, nor will I talk to anyone without being given permission to do so.
– will complete this home task for the next lesson (on dd/mm/yyyy). If I miss the next lesson(s), I will show the completed task on the first lesson I will attend.
– will ask for an additional project task that I will have completed in a 1-week period (by dd/mm/yyyy). If I miss this lesson, I will present my project on the first lesson I will attend.
Date/Signature”
This may give students (especially teenagers as they pretend to be adults) some understanding on how business relations are built and how valuable the promises are! And of course this will make them think about the consequences of their actions and undertake responsibility for them.
AnTonymous 