Before “Bob” or “Dennis” scare you away

It’s important to understand that many students will go through middle school and high school without a single referral. Just as some students rack up referrals, others rack up academic awards and extra credit points.

Eduhonesty: The posts on referrals are intended to present snapshots of real teaching challenges. Taken out of context, they might make that classroom seem unpleasant or even threatening. For the most part, though, a classroom will be working and learning.

We are sending all of America’s children to school, no matter who they are or what they are like as people. Every year, then, teachers get to see the luck in their draw. In a lucky year, I hardly write any referrals at all. I think I wrote maybe four total for my last group of students. I received solid work to post on my walls, showing effort and creativity.

Some past years have proven less fortunate. A few years have been golden. Teachers say to each other, “It only takes two or three kids.” In a good year, you don’t get those kids and learning proceeds with only a few glitches. When you do get disruptive students, learning depends tremendously on the administration and procedures set up to deal with misbehavior. A well-run school can rescue the learning environment.