Being a teacher is not an easy task, and while a good number of parents may tell you that you have an easy job, there are many who understand just how difficult things can be.
Of course, every teacher has their own methods, their own ways to connect with a class. However, this can be a lot more difficult when it comes to school refusers – the ones who rarely show up for your classes.
Now this can be for a number of reasons (health, lack of interest/motivation), so here are a few tips for teaching different types of school refusers.
Send It Home
If you have students who are suffering from illness, or even skipping your classes, you can find ways to send the work home to them so they can complete it. Some opt for sending it via email or home with friends that live close to the student.
In some cases, the parents are more than happy to pick up the work for their child and hand it in accordingly. This way, they can catch up on the classwork and the homework provided. You can even leave your school email address with them in case they have any questions or get stuck.
Reaching Out
If you have students that are skipping your classes, or rarely seem to be in school, it can be very helpful to them if you offer to reach out and give them support.
Simply talking with a student while they are in school and asking if everything is ok, how they are feeling, can really boost their mood and confidence. Showing your students that you care could lead to them becoming more willing to join your class. Reach out during break times and see if there is anything you can do to help.
Revaluating Your Teaching
It could be that your teaching method is not instilling a great deal of confidence in the students who are not attending your classes. Try talking to them about what could be improved in the classroom and see how they feel about your teaching.
Make sure your students are learning new things, but also that the classroom does not stifle creativity. Students like and need some freedom of thought while they learn, and so it might be an idea to implement some group discussions into your class. Ask the students and learn from the feedback they give you.
Online Learning
Most school intranets have some form of educational game that can be created and implemented by teachers. You Can use these to not only make homework a little more fun for your regular students, but it is also nice for those who are away due to health issues, and it could motivate the ones who are skipping class to join in a little more.
If you add a little fun to the learning experience, and a rewards such as this one, it is sure to create a good boost to morale. You may even find yourself winning back the ones who started avoiding your classes.
