“I think those students are the only reason I’m a semi-decent as a teacher. I started out in a school composed of only those students. Sink or swim.”
This is so true. Once you learn how to teach children who don’t want to learn, you can teach anyone. I still use many of the same techniques on the private school students. No kids scare me now.

“The blue students indulge none of my laziness. They tolerate none of my bad habits. There are all kinds of students at this school – gray students, we’ll call them – who will let me slide on all kinds of carelessness so long as I keep them moving toward graduation, college, and career.”
I love how you sum up everything that I felt and thought so eloquently. I wish I were as good of a writer. My kids had their trust broken by everyone they knew. It took so long for me to “win” it in the beginning of the year. Once I won it, they would work for me. I found it was the ONLY thing that worked. Every Time I slacked off, it was a personal affront in their eyes. They felt like I didn’t care and that they were just waiting for me to let them down like everyone else in their life had before me. It killed their motivation to work for me a little bit at a time. It really made me WORK.

The tipping lesson plan did NOT work with my kids. They had no idea what I was talking about. They informed me that they tipped, “$1 per person” no matter where they went or what the bill was. They thought I was crazy. LOL!

The best teaching method that I used for my blue students was music. We sang everything, we made up raps, we made videos. They loved it, they learned, but most importantly, they retained it. I had one of my students come back and tell me that she sang our songs all the way through her community college math course. It was the only way she passed. She went to college. She was one of the few who made it, and it made it all worth it.

Cheers!

I teach blue students at a school a colleague described as in fourth down, punt formation at all times. Despite the school climate, I’m having a hard time picturing myself as a teacher somewhere else. Those sentences are the best description I’ve read of why I find this job compelling. I thrive on the challenge. These students force me to change and force me to teach. I can see myself building a career on meeting their challenge.