Student receiving poor grades

[tange]

Hi everyone, I'm faced with a situation right now where one of my students is doing terribly in English (E). We usually work on close analysis (of the text) for a few lessons before moving on to brainstorm ideas and examples for different essay topics. We created a whole booklet on the text with examples, notes and relevant themes/ ideas but he seemed to forget the stuff we discussed in class every time we went through an essay topic. The questions were very similar and he could have reused examples from one essay for another but he totally forgot the stuff we went through in the previous lesson (he also refuses to use the booklet we created to help him generate ideas).

As a result, his SAC and exams (Yr 11) included little evidence or quotation and he also misread parts of the book despite the fact that we analysed the scene together previously. I asked him to write an essay for me during the week after each brainstorming session (we come up with the topic sentence, list of evidence and quotations for the paragraph) so I could give him constant feedback on his written expression, ideas and overall essay but I rarely received work from him. I've resorted to spending at least 15 minutes in class for him to write half a paragraph but it's not enough. His teacher also said that he was not consistent in providing work for feedback.

What do you guys think about this problem? Do you think he is forgetting the book because he does not complete practice pieces or is there something else I have not noticed/ identified? What is your approach to resolving this kind of situation? By the way, I also provided high scoring sample essays I wrote in Year 12 and from other people on the text he is studying to help him but he never used any of the sentence structures/ ideas/ examples from these sample pieces.

His father suggested me to give him set sentences that he can memorise and use for every single essay but I'm not sure whether this is the best approach (rote learning and not being able to adapt to the topic). Instead, I suggested him to see how other people have embedded quotations or approached the question so that he can use them in his own essay if necessary. Right now, they are threatening to quit tutoring so I'm obviously pretty concerned both by this and the fact that the student is not progressing. 

[meganrobyn]

Without knowing the student personally, and just going by what you've described, it sounds like a really unremarkable example of the student not taking responsibility for his own shit and not doing the fucking work. I've found it's less common with people who actually put in the time to see a tutor - but every now and then having a tutor can increase the poor work ethic of some because they feel like "having a session" replaces doing their own actual work.

It sounds like you're already going above and beyond. Please remember that HE is the person who needs to do the work and his success ultimately comes down to him: not you. You can't take 100% credit for your students' successes, but nor can (or should) you for their failures. Just ask yourself whether you've done what you can and should do; in this case, I think you absolutely have.

I know it can be daunting and confronting, but I don't think you should be scared to tell the student and his parents the situation like it is. Have a little sit-down chat and stand your ground. You and his classroom teacher are essentially finding the same problems, and they come down to his commitment and effort. The VCE English exam is not, for the most part, something for which you can rote-learn sentences; even if you could, that doesn't actually improve his English skills; and if he's not putting in the effort to learn the notes he has now, why would he put in effort to rote-learn dozens of sentences anyway? But you need to stand up for yourself in a (polite and supportive) assertive way, and they need a dose of reality. It pisses me off when people are all too ready to blame everyone and everything else except the person who's actually supposed to take responsibility. They can't just chuck you a bit of money and make the consequences of being slack disappear.

And, if they quit tutoring... meh. The weight off your mind will be a blessing. I know it's a bit of cash, but there are more important things in life.

(I know I sound a bit tough here, but I think it's just that I've had enough experience with so many WONDERFUL students who genuinely work hard and deserve every ounce of effort and care you give them - I don't have as much patience anymore for the minority of others.)

[tange]

I know it can be daunting and confronting, but I don't think you should be scared to tell the student and his parents the situation like it is. Have a little sit-down chat and stand your ground. You and his classroom teacher are essentially finding the same problems, and they come down to his commitment and effort. The VCE English exam is not, for the most part, something for which you can rote-learn sentences; even if you could, that doesn't actually improve his English skills; and if he's not putting in the effort to learn the notes he has now, why would he put in effort to rote-learn dozens of sentences anyway? But you need to stand up for yourself in a (polite and supportive) assertive way, and they need a dose of reality. It pisses me off when people are all too ready to blame everyone and everything else except the person who's actually supposed to take responsibility. They can't just chuck you a bit of money and make the consequences of being slack disappear.

And, if they quit tutoring... meh. The weight off your mind will be a blessing. I know it's a bit of cash, but there are more important things in life.

(I know I sound a bit tough here, but I think it's just that I've had enough experience with so many WONDERFUL students who genuinely work hard and deserve every ounce of effort and care you give them - I don't have as much patience anymore for the minority of others.)

Thanks for your reply and yes I agree with you that he probably won't put in the effort to rote learn. I think I'm too emotionally attached because I worked with him a few years ago (had to stop last year because I was too busy) and he was improving quite a lot. He was willing to submit homework every week and refine his writing based on my feedback. He is also humble and respectful but I think he is focusing too much on his Unit 3/4 subject this year while neglecting English.

[meganrobyn]

Ah, yeah, I get it. I agree - I think you might be more fair to yourself if you tried to look at his patterns without the attachment for a bit. I'm not saying he's a bad person or anything; I also think it would benefit him immeasurably to have to face facts.

You know, since you do have the relationship with him, you're probably one of the best people to give it to him straight - *because* you can do it with genuine affection. Tough love!

[tange]

Ah, yeah, I get it. I agree - I think you might be more fair to yourself if you tried to look at his patterns without the attachment for a bit. I'm not saying he's a bad person or anything; I also think it would benefit him immeasurably to have to face facts.

You know, since you do have the relationship with him, you're probably one of the best people to give it to him straight - *because* you can do it with genuine affection. Tough love!

Yeah it's somewhat difficult for me to practice tough love most of the time and I admit that is one of my biggest flaws as a tutor or teacher. When I did placement last year, all three of my mentors were concerned about the fact that I was too nice to students and that the way I managed behaviour was to engage the students in my lesson content rather than using any direct method of behaviour management or confrontation (e.g. punishment). I also grew too attached to most of my students so it was difficult for me to tell them off, especially the Year 11 students =(

I'll definitely try to approach the student about this issue based on your suggestions!

[meganrobyn]

Just remember that coddling people or meeting them far more than halfway doesn't actually benefit them in the long run, either - refusing to do it doesn't mean you don't care. Caring about someone means wanting the best for them - and that's not necessarily to be happy all the time. I don't want to get too psychological about it, but sometimes I think we can cushion people too much (particularly those over whom we have some influence or responsibility and perhaps feel protective) because it makes us feel good and not 100% because it's best for them in the big picture.

By the way, though, I'm not particularly supportive of 'punishment'. Legitimate consequences YES, because every action has a consequence - but not punishment for the sake of inflicting some pain or hardship merely for its own purpose. I never found it particularly effective when I was teaching, either. So I wouldn't take that recommendation to heart. I don't think, however, that it's your job to make up for inattentiveness or bad behaviour (you're not a dancing bear at the front of the class!) - you meet them halfway by putting in an effort to run an informative and beneficial class, and they meet you halfway by switching on and putting effort in to engage with it. Anyone old enough to have basic verbal skills and cause-effect cognition is capable of rational conversation and understanding the effects of their actions, though - not to mention the importance of responsibility and empathy. I always prefer that communication approach over 'punishment' - and you build a better relationship, too, which makes future interactions and 'management' much easier. So I'd support you on eschewing punishment.