The Not-So-Great Student
By Peter Barnes

My student Chris has two distinct personalities. When schoolwork beckons, he is disorganized and inconsistent. He never reads more than two pages without a bathroom break or at least a few words with whomever sits near him. His papers are all over the classroom and he never turns in projects without a fight.

Whenever we take a break from learning, Chris is one of the most pleasant students in my class. He has a winning smile and is always the first one to offer help in passing out papers or delivering messages. He shares his belongings with other students and is popular on the playground.

For a long time these contrary personality traits really bothered me. Two questions kept recurring in my mind. How could such a likeable kid be such an unmotivated student? More importantly, how could I encourage Chris' positive personality traits without lowering academic expectations for him?

All is forgotten
The answer came during a fifth grade field trip to Busch Gardens amusement park. The day before, I had angrily threatened to keep Chris off the trip if he did not complete his overdue science project. After a long phone conversation with his father and what Chris described as a "very long night," the project was turned in.

At Busch Gardens I expected Chris to distance himself from me. Instead he sought me out and requested we ride the "Roman Rapids" water raft together. I soon realized Chris had completely forgotten the previous day's confrontation. He was accustomed to being punished for incomplete schoolwork, but he didn't let these punishments spoil his genuine joy for living.

Defining "success"
There are many reasons why Chris is not a successful student. He receives little support at home, he hasn't been taught good organizational skills and he has a mild case of attention deficit disorder. Fortunately, none of these things affect Chris's warm personality. As teachers, it's important for us to keep this in mind. Just as Chris didn't hold a grudge against me about his science project, we shouldn't judge our students solely on their academic prowess. Unmotivated students aren't bad people.

We must be sure to find time to connect with our students not just about reading and math, but about SpongeBob SquarePants and Jennifer Lopez and whatever else interests them. Students have complete lives outside of school and we can't let their academic successes or failures determine how we treat them as people.

Peter Barnes teaches fifth grade in New Albany, OH.