We all have our difficult students. I know I am not alone in this one. I have a couple who just do not want to do work. Or if they have a bad morning, the rest of the day is a waste.

What are some ways to motivate the unmotivated. Unfortunately, I am not to a point that he trusts me yet to find out the exact cause. HELP

like
Posting as :
works at
You are currently posting as works at

Personally I’d start by pulling the student aside (individually) and having an empathetic heart to heart with him/her. Id start by asking -what’s going on or what happened to make it hard for you to get your work started/finished and share objective observations (find something positive too), etc.
Tell that student you want them to think about how you might be of help to him/her and have them think about it and report back to you- follow up.

Maybe work is too hard, maybe they can’t concentrate, maybe ???
Start building that relationship. It will serve you well.

like

I have been working on the relationship with this student. I know it helps immensely. But he tries to see if I am going to stand by my guns....I hate sending kids to the principal, but if i let him get away with throwing things he will do it all the time. Some days are better than others, as to be expected.

I have a student like that this year! He is on the spectrum so getting back into the routine of school - which he does not love - is DIFFICULT for him! At home he is treated like a little prince and gets to do/eat whatever he wants. This isn’t necessarily due to indulgent parenting, it’s due to his culture and parents just not having a ton of parenting skills - we’re in the process of getting the family supports at home to help them with this. Knowing this about him and knowing a little about his home life is absolutely essential for me to reflect on his point of view and why he refuses to do anything. Right now we have a visual schedule with many breaks built in on Velcro so he can pull off each subject and put it away. He knows that IF he does ELA, THEN he gets a 5 minute choose time. The first few days out focus was on being in the classroom without being disruptive. Now that he’s done great with that we’re moving towards getting work done. IF he actively participates at least one part of the lesson THEN he gets a sticker towards a book that he’s been really wanting for a while! The sticker chart has like 100 spots for stickers. Once he starts regularly actively participating in one part of a lesson we’ll bump it up to 2 and keep going from there! It will take a while but it does seem to be working! He’s a super complicated kiddo but maybe some extrinsic rewards for getting work done will help! It’s not my favorite way to motivate kids but hey sometimes as special education teachers it’s what we need to do! Good luck!!!! Try to learn everything you can about them to help you reflect on the behaviors and why they’re happening!

like

Many middle school students on the spectrum still need the constant visual supports described above and frequent reinforcement beyond a reward for having a good day. And some high school student still need it too. Sometimes they just need it at the beginning of a new year and it can be tapered off. I am so frustrated to see students who need these things having them taken away because they're "supposed to have/learn more mature skills" when they don't yet have that ability. It's about what that student needs, not what grade they're in.

As you mentioned, you don't know them well enough just yet and trust takes time. We know that students will go out if their way to please a teacher which whom they have a great relationship. I offer you some suggestions below and I hope you find them helpful.
1-use a visual chart of the class schedule and what has to be completed. Celebrate when the students complete some or all of it
2-make those students your "social project" and give them all the possible attention when they do the right thing no matter how small
3-use first-then strategies
4-use tangible reinforcers if you know what they like (you can have informal conversations to find out)
5-be patient with them since many of our students have developed resistance to intervention and many times have very challenging life experiences that preclude them from being successful in other environments
6-most of all, be patient with yourself. I am sure you are trying to do the right thing
7-don't give up. There are no shortcuts to any place worth going

like

Love your suggestions NSU1-
Ask the student what he thinks will help. You’d be surprised as to how well they know themselves.

Related Posts

Hi Fishes and Sharks,
What is FSS?
I have seen many fishes posting received FSS, those are serving NP.

like

The PwC Deal leader. Do you have something sad or upsetting? Why do you always wear a frown? A smile really makes the world better.

funnylike

Male. Worked in-house. Manager & Director (F) didn’t like me. Pretty much gaslit me to the point where i was making errors, anxious, and depressed. Just found out they’re doing It to 2 other males...

like

Does it actually make you more competitive as an applicant to have multiple bar admissions in surrounding states? Wondering if it’s worth waiving into other jurisdictions.

like
like

8.5 yoe and _vois is offering me 22.10 lpa ( fixed + 13% variable) . I asked for around 24% . Is it a good offer ? Should i accept ?

like

Anyone taken the business class on Air India from JFK to BOM? Worth the upgrade?

What's the typical raise from A2 tax to S1?

like

My friend is wondering how to approach a raise conversation with her new boss.

A data analyst on her team left so she’s been taking over that position on top of her regular job (spending ~50% of her time) and working a lot more now (40 hrs a week to 60 hrs). She’s not really interested in the data work, but she’s happy to do it if she can get a raise. How can she best approach this with a new manager that just joined 1-2 months ago?

like

How to handle being mansplained by an Experienced Hire with less than 5 months at your Firm?

like

Any Consulting book recommendations based on the UK market?

like

Are there any therapists who are on Alma’s online platform? I am wondering if the membership is worth it and if it’s been helpful in establishing a private practice.

like

Anyone have thoughts on diversity at Apple?

I’m a mid level engineer and my team is overwhelmed. There’s more work than we can complete in the timelines that leadership/product has committed to, which is causing leadership to override technical decisions seemingly to meet those deadlines. An example would be routing all live traffic to a feature which was not fully tested, instead of waiting until testing is complete or having that change be dormant and the feature enabled later. Has anyone dealt with this type of issue?

like

New Biz ....I always seem to get to the final round , always come close but never quite win . Always pipped to the post . I'm 11 years in the game and only had one win. I'm feeling cursed ....any tips ?

like

Do anybody know or have, an opportunity for me. I just recently graduated. with my MBA degree in, Business Administration. Thanks in advance.

like
like

Im going to join PWC INDIA Kolkata branch soon. Please someone tell me some pros ans cons that your are facing.

What about the WELCOME KIT,is there any or its for sde only??

like

Additional Posts in Special Education Teachers

Looking for jobs in Illinois in public low income schools for 2022-2023. Any leads?

like

Anyone familiar with teaching in Effingham County schools?

Middle school co teacher here.. moving to K-2 Self contained with no early Ed experience this summer. The lowest I’ve gone is 1st. Any tips or tricks for must haves for kids who are academically and SEL lower than their peers? Ie: cannot identify letters in name and limited social skills as per current teachers notes.

like

Hello Good Teachers. I am new and happy to be here.🙂

like

Favorite professional organizations for special education? I belong to Council for Exceptional Children, but I’m looking for others to possibly join.

like

Hi!! What does your sped model look like?We were told to teach the gen ed curriculum w/ A&M to our pull-out kids & not focus on their goals cause we would teach them within the curriculum. Thoughts?

Anyone else feeling less respected/ appreciated from Gen Ed teachers, you collaborate with? If so, how do you deal with this?

like

I teach 3rd grade spec. ed., any suggestions for on line writing programs for my students? I seem to have reading and math covered but open to hear what is working for everyone. Thanks

like

Self contained ASD room. Does anyone not follow school bell schedule? Do you start and end each hour like the Gen Ed kids ( 1st hr. 2nd hr. and so on)? If you don’t follow bells, how does that work for you and do you do anything different?

like

Would anyone be interested in participating in a research study? The only requirements are to be a school district employee and have a child in the district with special needs. Please help!!!

like

Just wanted to share this with people who would understand. Had 4 IEP meetings last week. When the case manager asked one mother if she had any concerns she said her only concern was that her kindergarten son with autism loved me so much she was afraid of him being promoted and being out of my room. I told her not to worry, in our program I will have him for 2 more years. Boy that made me feel good.

likeuplifting

Countdown... beginning now

like

Hi Everyone! I’m Alyssa, one of the Community Leaders at Fishbowl this summer. I’ve been in Special Education for almost 10 years and coaching for 7 (mostly pre-k and elementary). Excited to be here!

like

How does your school support new teachers when they start?

like

How is H.S. sped different than middle? I’m considering moving to H.S. One does resource and the other school doesn’t. What’s your typical day like as an inclusion teacher?

like

Parents want to send their children back to school not only for educational purposes but also for social interactions. I do understand that many children want that interaction with their friends and teachers. But I don't think it is going to be quite as rewarding as many think with social distancing and face coverings to be safe. No high fives, pats on the back, sharing earbuds to listen to a new song, or consoling an upset friend. Even facial expressions are lost. Tough times.

like

Caution venting about to happen:
If I hear that an accommodation is just a crutch for a student from a reg ed teacher one more time this year, I am going to lose my mind!

likehelpful

My students come to my class first every morning and are really hard to settle. They continue to carry on whatever they were doing on the bus. It takes about 20 min to get them settled down and doing the warm up and the class is only 45 min. Any tips?

like

Students don’t care about how much you know until they know how much you care.

Post Photo
like

New to Fishbowl?

Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
That was just a preview…
Sign Up to see all discussions
  • Discover what it’s like to work at companies from real professionals
  • Get candid advice from people in your field in a safe space
  • Chat and network with other professionals in your field
Sign up in seconds to unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.

Already a user?
Login here

Share

Embed this post

Copy and paste embed code on your site

Preview

Download the
Fishbowl app

See what’s happening in your industry
from the palm of your hand.

A phone with Fishbowl app

Send download link to your phone

OR

Scan your QR code to download
Fishbowl app on your mobile

By continuing you agree to Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Messaging rates may apply

Download app

Sign up for free to view this conversation on Fishbowl

By continuing you agree to Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

Already have an account? Log in

Sign up for free to continue using Fishbowl

By continuing you agree to Terms of Use(New) and Privacy Policy(New)
Messaging rates may apply

Already have an account? Log in

For account settings, visit Fishbowl on Desktop Browser or

General

Legal