homework

I teach a lot of "developmental" students at the two-year college where I work. This word, developmental, is a euphemism for what used to be called "remedial." It doesn't much matter what you call it. Teaching English to college students who can't read and write at the college level is a labor of love, an act of service, a leap of faith, a hopeless cause, casting pearls before swine... (I think I'll just keep adding to this list as I think of other cliches that fit the shoe).

So, along with a number of devoted and caring colleagues, I agonize over how best to teach these students who do not have the behaviors, habits of mind, or history of success that characterize their more academically savvy peers. They don't do their homework, and then they don't bother to lie or suck up. There's a kind of endearing honesty about this. They don't study or read, but they think they could most likely pass the test at the end of the semester anyway, which is kind of endearingly optimistic as well.

The central problem, though, is that in order for them to be more successful as students, they really have to conduct themselves differently than they have in their past school experiences. This is a very hard thing to teach, and a task that I'm not really well equipped for -- I'm not a motivational speaker or a psychologist, and I'm not licensed to prescribe any drugs. But sometimes I feel like my classes are kind of like group therapy!

Today I practiced a little "tough love." When I discovered that only four out of my eighteen students were prepared with their homework assignment at the start of today's class, I sent fourteen students away, telling them to get caught up and come back tomorrow. The four who were left did a pretty fine job with the in-class activity I had planned, and I think they learned something. Tomorrow maybe I'll find out a bit about what the others learned, but I'm a little afraid of what that might turn out to be. These students just don't process things the way I expect them to -- not just some of the time, probably not even just half the time. Really, honestly, most of the time, they just don't process things the way I expect them to. At least I know what not to expect. When I figure out what I should expect, by then I'm sure it will be time to retire.