Continued from At-Risk Students: A Point of Viewing page 2
December 1, 2008

2. Focus on nonverbal behavior: The student-teacher relationship makes the crucial difference in a student’s achievement and the ability of a teacher to influence student behavior. If teachers taught better, students would learn better; if teachers taught more, students would learn more; and if teachers taught the at-risk students, the at-risk students would learn. And, it is the teacher who has the obligation and ability to improve the relationship through which students can improve their learning.
3. Attitude change: Research indicates two primary ways to change attitude -- that is, cause a student to change his/her attitude. Both ways are crucial. First, is the teacher’s attitude--if the teacher thinks the student can learn, believes the learning to be important, and shows that attitude the student may also believe it. Second, helping the students see themselves and the task differently--if they saw the task in a different way and saw themselves as capable, they would respond differently. Teachers could break down a task so that students see its importance, its sequential steps, and its meaningfulness, giving them the confidence to try.
4. Self-concept: At-risk students are in the classroom grouping but not necessarily a part of the group. Teachers, through their own personal degree of tolerance, rejection, and acceptance, responses, attitude, group activities and class lessons can and should demonstrate acceptance and understanding. Students who think they won’t be accepted by a group -reject the group first. And, once marginalized, they will remain on the fringes, unless specific teaching strategies demonstrate and encourage acceptance of all individuals by all group members.
5. Non verbal communication: Conscious awareness of possible (probable?) discrimination against at-risk students is the first step to reducing it. Safeguards such as consistent timing for responses, calling on students by random selection, collaborating, class discussions, and getting to know more about the students’ personal lives can be implemented immediately, while feedback and reflection on non-verbal aspects of interaction can be become a priority.
6. “Sponding/responding:” Teachers, through self-reflection, experimentation and action research can initiate hypotheses about how their own behavior might be changed and how it might affect student behavior. Forms of providing prestigious involvement, positive attitude, more pleasant demeanor, and improved relationship can be tried.

If Educators Will Not Change Themselves; They Will Not Change Students Either

Educational excellence is via instructional excellence. At-risk students cannot be expected to increase their achievement unless their teachers improve their teaching effectiveness and willingness. At-risk students cannot change unless and until teachers and schools change. Certainly it’s a tough job, but if professional educators can’t change themselves, they should not expect inexperienced, struggling students to change themselves. Nor should educators continue the failed policies of threats, exhortation, and intimidation by tests, grades, and failure.

For many years, dropouts, force-outs, psychological dropouts, failures, over-age students, social misfits, delinquents, and students in categories most at-risk were relegated to the lowest socioeconomic levels when they exited school, and might expect to find menial jobs and a degree of acceptance by society at that low level. But, times have changed. Society no longer expects or accepts failures nor is there a place for them. Every child is expected to be a literate, productive, independent, critically thinking, self-actualizing member of society. If s/he is not, s/he becomes doomed to failure in life just as s/he was in school. Unfortunately, their fate is not in their hands. It is in the hands and hearts of schools and teachers, who have the opportunity and obligation to salvage their lives. We must not let them down.

With joy in sharing,
Bill Page

This article is adapted from one of the 31 chapters in, At-Risk Students. The groundbreaking book is currently in its Second Printing and the new edition will be released in November 2008, 280 pages, $24.95, Educational Dynamics, Nashville, TN, Visit www.TeacherTeacher.com for information, preview, and orders, or contact billpage@bellsouth.net. Satisfaction Guaranteed. The book is also available from Amazon, Abebooks, and RLD Publications.

Comments and questions are welcome: billpage@bellsouth.net

Bill Page is the author of the book, At-Risk Students: Feeling Their Pain, Understanding Their Defensive Ploys. “Insights and strategies for kids who can’t, don’t, or won’t learn, try, follow procedures, cooperate, or behave.”

At-Risk Student: One whom teachers cannot motivate, interest, control, or teach via traditional techniques.

The term “At-Risk” refers to being at risk of failure, but it has come to mean “at-certain” of not being taught.

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