Warning – Don’t be the teacher who is Ignoring the Good Kids!
Hey, I know…it happens to many of us. We are having a difficult year with a difficult student; or worse, a difficult class AND we end up ignoring the good kids! YIKES! We never meant to…but we realize it now and want to fix the situation.
Ignoring the good kids – yikes!
Why does it always seem to be so easy to lose sight of the quiet ones, the ones who are following the rules, the ones who don’t SCREAM OUT FOR OUR ATTENTION?
WHY? Because we are human just like anyone else. Because we get frazzled too (and for you grammar buffs, yes, I know I’m not supposed to begin a sentence with because or and). I’m trying to write this like I would say it to you in a conversation…and that’s how I speak.
Don’t you just LOVE your little sweet ones? If you teach Middle or High School, I guess they aren’t so little, but they are often still pretty sweet. Many times they are the quiet ones. They aren’t necessarily the high achievers, but they can be. But they aren’t always the quiet ones, they are just GOOD!
Most classes have 3-8 of these good kids, and they often get lost in the day-to-day hustle of dealing with the difficult ones.
Speaking of what kids need in school…I have another article I wrote about why students need breaks at school. Here is the link for you to read it too,
Do Students Need Breaks to Increase Focus on Content?
Ways to recognize the good kids
So, now let’s come up with some things we can do so we aren’t always ignoring the good kids.
Perhaps you can have a special day each month when the good kids get to eat lunch with you in the classroom. Or, would you be allowed to dismiss them 2 minutes before the rest of the class each Friday? After all, they are the good kids, so chances are HIGH that they will behave and go where they need to go.
Another idea is to see if the librarian will let them come visit every once in a while. You can whisper thanks to them for being good. Perhaps they can earrn some extra points, stickers or class dollars.
Here is s FREE pdf you can download and use about 101 Teacher tips (just in case you are interested). All you need to do is complete this form with your email and I will zip it right over to you.
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If you are using a system of random selection for answerring in class (which I highly recommend) then they aren’t ignored during lessons necessarily…just at other times.
An important thing not to do!
One thing you don’t want to ever do is use them as a comparison to the misbehaving student aloud in front of the whole class. For most of them, they would rather die (figuratively speaking) than to have you call this type of attention to them.
You see, this can backfire into them being teased by other students on the playground or at lunch about being “teachers’s pet.” And these quiet kids don’t ever want that kind of attention…well, most of them (there are always exceptions).
You may wonder how I know this. Well, #1… I was that quiet kid in school, and #2…Having taught many years, I have worked with many students – both good and bad; and #3…I was a principal too, so I heard from these sweet ones when they were bullied.
Being the Good Kid
Some good kids are very secure and have great reinforcement from parents at home. Often, all these ones need are words to recognition of their positive behavior and words of appreciation for them. As a reminder, this should be in private (or at least out of earshot of the class bully).
But other “good kids” come to us from challenging home lives. These “good kids” are just naturally good. Or perhaps they appreciate school since it is a safer place for them than their home. Regardless, you need to try to recognize these quiet kids (or good kids) at least once a day if you can. It could be a simple smile and welcome in the morning.
Just remember that little gestures go a long way with your good kids. Think of small ways to recognize them. The older they get, the more they realize that you are busy dealing with the trouble-makers. But they need our praise and recognition so they will continue to be good.
Often, little comments mean a lot. Sometimes, these children remember our encouraging words and recognition for many years. I recently saw on Facebook where an artist told a friend that he is a successful artist today because a teacher noticed and encouraged his art work.
Don’t ever doubt your impact on your students. Often we feel most accomplished when we help a struggling student. BUT, just as important is the justification and acknowledgement we give to our good ones.
Until Next Time,
