Success Story

My success story happened a few weeks ago. I have a student who is completely lazy and refuses to do any work. Devan has told me several times that the ONLY reason he comes to school is so his mother will not go to jail. When at school Devan wants to turn around and talk to his friends. Everyday he gets in just enough trouble not to get written up.

Normally, I have to literally MAKE Devan complete his work. I have to threaten that he cannot leave the class before his work is completed. This tactic has worked so far with Devan, because lunch is his next period and Devan does not ever want to miss a meal!

Realistically, I know that Devan is not an all A student; however I do realize that he can be a strong C+/possibly B- student, if he tried. He doesn’t do very well on tests, but if I allow him to do test corrections, he does better and usually gets them correct.

The success occurred last week. My students took their Ch.2 test. I already know how my students are so I have 3-4 different versions. Because Devan is a tier 2 student, one of his accommodations in my classroom is to give him a basic version of a test. Although it is a basic test, for Devan it is challenging.
On the test day Devan was warned for talking during a test. I have a zero talking policy during a test. If a person talks during a test, they will receive a zero. I have a cheating policy to keep down the talking, because as I’ve stated before I have 3-4 different versions. When I graded the tests, Devan to my surprise made an 88%. I was so proud of him! I know that he did it on his own, because he couldn’t have cheated. I told him I proud I was of him and that I knew he could do it if he tried. He told me that he understood things out of this chapter and all I could do was smile.

Yes, Devan is still lazy and yes, it is hard to get him to do any work. But, I am glad that we had a moment of success, and I am happy!