The Blame Game
The Player(s)
There’s always enough blame to go around, if you’re looking.
First-of-the-year issues were just about dealt with. After about 5 weeks of school things seem to settle into routine. Students, who have been learning new ways of doing new things begin finding themselves having success and are starting to move forward. [the student] had been polite, attentive, and a kid – getting his business in little jams here and there, just like all students do. I didn’t see a problem. [the student] hadn’t indicated any problems with the work we’d been doing.
The Setup
So I was unprepared for the email I received from [the student]’s parent. There had been no behavior problems. The grade was good. There had been no major personality conflicts between [the student] and me, or between [the student] and the remainder of the class. I hadn’t even seen any untoward interactions between [the student] and other students of the school during passing period.
The Sequence
Email from parent: Do you offer after school tutoring on __ (certain date)?
Response from me: I am unavailable for tutoring on _. As a general rule, I don’t stay after school for student tutoring.
From parent: Ok. My child reports having problems in your class. Where can he get help?
My response: I looked at [the student]’s grade record. There are 2 missing assignments. Those zeroes are really hurting [the student]’s grade. I will be glad to grade them when they get turned in. I will talk to [the student] again today about getting assignments turned in.
The Denouement
There were no “problems,” only laziness. After speaking with [the student], I was convinced that [the student] knew what to do and how to complete all the assignments. They just weren’t getting done. Sadly, this is a relatively typical occurrence: students who know what and how, but are unwilling to expend the energy necessary to get things turned in.
The Moral
It’s easier on a student for a parent to believe all the issues are the teacher’s fault. It’s also easier on the parent.
