I have yet to experience the Student from Hell that Palmer describes,
but I have encountered my own hellish pupil. My very own Student from Hell, Student
from Hell 2.0. This Student from Hell 2.0” is not quietly hiding in the back
under a baseball cap. She is sitting in the front row rolling her eyes and attempting
to discredit every word I spew as well as each active learning activity I
present to my students. Frequently mentioning how this class is a waste of her
time and money in addition to commonly arguing with me over the grade she earns
on assignments. As the weeks have gone by I have attempted to diagnose what is at
the root of her outbursts and harsh nonverbals. My diagnoses have ranged from “maybe
she just does not like me” to “she must not care” and finally resting on “she just
does not take me seriously, therefore she does not take this class serious”. Does
a good doctor diagnose a patient without examining and/or talking to the patient?
No, Palmer has helped me come to this realization. The notion that I cannot
assume what is happen in my student’s life that may be causing her behavior.
Although,
Palmer’s and my student’s classroom behaviors are very different, I have taken
a similar route in dealing with my student. Harnessing all I have learned as
well as googled about reaching a student and tried everything other than just
simply talking to the student. Palmer has aided my understanding with one
statement: “the Student from Hell is not born this way but created by
conditions beyond his or her control” (Palmer, 2007, p.45). Therefore, I should
not assume I know what has caused the development of Student from Hell 2.0 and instead
should talk to the student to find out.
Also, Palmer subtly forced me to take a look
at the fear in my own heart. The fear of rejection consumes my need and want to
speak with my students more openly. With this realization of my fear, I can now
try to conquer it in the classroom. It
is time I have a long overdue heart to heart with my Student from Hell 2.0.
#thefeels #wishmeluck
Jordan! I can totally relate to this. I really do appreciate the fact that your my Tuesday/Thursday buddy and we can vent to one another about things going on in 1010 and life:). But I can relate to your discussion about fear. My fear is that I come off too "rough around the edges" to my students who don't really know my personality. Your fear is genuine and I think you can definitely conquer it in the classroom.
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