Ten Thoughts for Teaching Tough Kids

by Gayle Sands

1.“Always leave a man a horse to ride out on.”  

I got this advice from my principal on my first assignment. It has served me well. When dealing with a student issue, it is important to leave them some dignity to walk away with. Backing a student into a corner (metaphorically or in reality) leaves the adolescent with nothing to respond with but anger.  Any positive lesson you may have hoped for is lost in the haze of resentment. 

2. Pull. Don’t push. 

Think about who you were when you were 13. Or 16. (Even today!)  Give students a reason to learn.  You cannot force-feed knowledge. Pull them into your world via your excitement, your passion, and the value offered by what you are sharing with them. Pull them toward learning.   Make it a team effort—you WITH them, not AT them. Pushing drives things away from the goal. 

3. Unless you intend to follow through with it, do not say it. 

Whether consequence or promise, always follow through. Failure to do so will cost you respect and trust. You need both to be an effective teacher. 

4. Apologize when you are wrong. 

You will make mistakes. When you do, admit it. Apologize if you were wrong. This will not lessen the respect students have for you. It will increase it. 

5. If you don’t know something, say so.

The world is full of things you don’t know yet. Students will respect you for that acknowledgment. Find out as a team. You and they will be stronger for it. 

6. Build a safe learning environment. Reward student risk-taking. 

• When a student is wrong, ask if other students have the same incorrect idea. This becomes a teaching opportunity rather than an embarrassment.  
• Honor the effort. “That is an excellent mistake—explain what you were thinking!”  Another teaching opportunity.
• Make your own mistakes and admit them. Build a classroom where mistakes are what people make when they are learning and growing.
• Instead of asking “Does anyone know…?”, say “I need two people to answer this question” or “Before we move on, I need someone to ask a question they or someone else might have.”  

7. Give second chances.

We all need them now and again. 

8. A few “good” rules are stronger than many specific ones.

I had only three, and they covered most situations in my classroom: 

• Respect yourself and others in the room.
• Be honest. 
• You do not have the right to interfere with other students’ learning. 

9. Recognize your biases.

You may not understand the root cause of a problem. Understand the situation before you judge or react.   

10. Every student can do more if they believe they can.

Sometimes you must believe in them before they will.  Celebrate growth. 

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Gayle Sands taught middle school English for 27 years, mostly to kids who didn’t want to be in school. She loved those kids.  They grew–together.