Dealing with student apathy

Explain less; expect more.

By far the top challenge my readers identified in my end-of-year survey was students’ lack of motivation. I have an opinion on this that might be somewhat controversial, so I’ll start by saying that this is my opinion only and not anything endorsed by MCP.

I also want to acknowledge that everything I’m about to say is far, far easier said than done. I’m looking back with somewhat rose-colored glasses on my mostly pre-Covid years of teaching, while you’re walking into school later today to work with actual students whom you need to teach and support and inspire. Yet I’ll share these reflections anyway, in hopes that what I think can somehow help you act. Here goes.

Explain less; expect more

I taught Precalculus at a school where only 1% of students were proficient in Algebra 1, so I’m familiar with student apathy. My students entered my classroom expecting:

1. not to understand my content, and

2. to be passed along anyways.

That’s what they were used to! They knew they weren’t prepared for Precalculus - our system had failed to prepare them - and it was easier to tune out than to struggle. Sadly but understandably, apathy was their defense mechanism.

My initial response was to do more of the work in class. “My students aren’t motivated to learn independently,” I thought, “so I’ll make them learn! I’ll hold their attention and force them to take in everything I say!”

Well, that didn’t work.

For one, I wasn’t very good at holding their attention. But more importantly, I couldn’t force them to learn anything. Learning occurs in students’ minds - not mine - and by talking more, I implicitly asked them to do less. The more I pushed them through content at my pace, the less opportunity they had develop their own understandings. All I was really teaching them was that their job was to sit and listen.

So I decided to explain less.

I wanted my students to do the thinking in class - not me! That meant they needed more responsibility. I made them watch my videos, made them take their own notes, and made them come to me with questions. Most importantly, I made them show mastery before advancing. My job was to support them in achieving that, without doing any of the work for them.

This may seem counterintuitive. If students aren’t motivated, how can we ask them to do more?

I think the answer is that students will rise - or fall - to the level of our expectations. If we expect them to sit and listen, then allow them to advance without much understanding, they might not work much. Why should they? They don’t need to. And kids are savvy enough to grasp what is and isn’t actually required.

But if we expect them to construct knowledge on their own - then require that they do - then students can and will. We just need to be there for support and encouragement.

And look - I get that this is hard! I have young kids and sometimes, when we need to get out of the house at a certain hour, I just put their shoes on instead of giving them the chance to build that skill themselves. It’s easier in the short term to do things for young people! But ultimately, we’ve got to let them do things themselves. And my job as a parent - like yours as a teacher - is to figure out a way that I can stop rushing all the time, so that my kids do have the chance to put their shoes on themselves.

A mentor of mine once told me that students won’t acquire skills until we require them. That’s not the case for all students or all skills: our young people learn and develop all sorts of skills on their own, out of sheer interest or intrinsic motivation. But when it comes to Precalculus, or many of the other things we have to teach, it is true. If we want students to learn independently, we’ve got to make them do it.

Explain less; expect more.

Two good questions for students

I realize that the above is all kind of abstract. So here are two questions that I asked my students, to help motivate them, which I hope you can use with yours too.

1) I already know this, so how will you learn it?

My students were often surprised to hear me say this. But it was true! My job, at the end of the day, wasn’t to teach them my content - it was to help them learn it. Reminding them of this fact helped them understand who was responsible for what.

2) What will you be proud of doing today?

We often think of learning in terms of pure content mastery. That matters. But learning is a human process with emotional impacts on students, and we should always consider how our classes make students feel. Being bored or confused or lost stinks… but reaching mastery feels good! Asking my students what they could feel proud of doing - even if it was just solving one problem - helped remind them of that.

I asked my students these two questions so many times that I’m sure they got sick of hearing them. But in my experience, they worked. I hope they can work for you too.

Three ways to learn more

I like writing this newsletter - but I also like getting to know readers like you! If you’re interested in connecting further, here are three opportunities.

1. Webinar Series: Meet Every Learner's Needs (the book) comes out in two weeks, and I’m eager to share some of the highlights with key audiences. Feel free to register for as many events as you like - and invite your friends, too!

2. Insta~Lesson Feedback Calls: As I continue to work on this new (and recently improved) AI tool, I’m eager to hear from educators who try it out. Whether you’ve tried it once or use it every day, I want your feedback. And if those times don’t work, just send me an email and we can figure something out.

3. Book Launch Party: If you happen to be in the DC area, come out and join me - and an amazing community of DC-based educators - on February 6 to celebrate the book. No word yet on a nationwide book tour, but maybe one day…

I hope to see you in one (or more) of these contexts soon!

One more thing