Challenges to Interventions

There are some rather amazing statements on this particular topic in Dufour's book.  The one that I found astounding was that students aren't invited to join the support system; rather, they are directed to do so. Tutoring was not just offered, but it was mandatory.  No excuses are accepted for not doing work, and students lose privileges like lunch with their friends if they don't complete it.   The most true statement in this chapter is that the teachers and students have to form a relationship in which the teacher shows consistently that he/she cares that the student succeeds.  In this era of teaching and moving on and leaving some behind, this is an eye-opening statement.  "I care that you are failing, and I will work hard to help you to pass.  So, my expectation is for you to work hard, too."  I think that I tried this method before I read the book with an academic contract that I had my struggling students sign.  Within a few weeks of signing the contract that required that they work harder, almost 70%of my students had improved in their learning and work habits.  I would like to find a way to keep this motivation up all the way until the end of the year, but I have found that during this fourth quarter, students are returning to the old belief that since they can't pass, they may as well not work.  Unfortunately, this attitude is fed by parental attitudes who tell students that is okay to "quit trying" and just work on their other subjects.  It is my firm belief that we need a class on how parents can help their students to succeed, and one part of that class would be that choosing to fail is never an option.