Last week during their first test, the kids all had problems with wandering eyes, whispering, and even blatant paper trading. Since we had split them into two groups, we could lie and say that we had taken away points for cheating from some students in the other group. That seemed to do the trick because this week during the test the room was dead silent for the first fifteen minutes.
After that, this young kid aptly named Klever asked to go to the bathroom. Klever is aptly named. Even though fifteen minutes into the test he had written down absolutely nothing, he has smarts in other areas. He knows how to command the attention of the entire class, how to fluster his teachers, and how to cheat. Last week it ranged from whispering to other students to asking the teacher for the answers. Despite his efforts, the test period ended without his having filled all the blanks. And needless to say, his score wasn't very good.
This week he asked to go to the bathroom. And I let him. When my teaching partner caught wind of what I had done, she left the room and walked out to the bathroom. She returned several minutes later with a disgruntled Klever and a crumpled sheet of paper. "I found him with his and when I asked him about it he said, 'I'm reviewing.'"
He'll take a new test on Monday, and if he cheats again he's out of the program.
It's so strange to think that we're here offering these kids a chance to be the first in their family to go to high school and get and education, but that they're still not motivated. If I knew that failing this summer program and not receiving a scholarship meant that I would probably never attend school again, I would be working my ass off.
I think it's time to consider the differences, to reconsider our methods.
No comments:
Post a Comment