The Situation: Why Do Students Sometimes Act Out in Class?

Duquan from "The Wire"

If you have not yet seen the television show, "The Wire," add it to your Netflix que and watch it. If you want to know what youth who are living in under-served urban communities are facing, this show will give you a good sense as to what some of their day to day lives are like. Pay close attention to Season 4 and 5, which focuses on a group of boys who attend a Baltimore public school. The entire series will provide you with a good context for these two seasons and I would highly recommend spending a few months watching "The Wire" from beginning to end. It's a great show!

Namond from "The Wire"

As a Health Educator working in the Camden, NJ middle schools, I can tell you that the things that happened in Mr. Prez-bo's class in Season 4, also happened in my classes. Nothing too extreme happened, but there were certainly incidents that made me realize I would have to be a little more creative to reach the students. Sometimes, a few of my classes felt a bit out of control, but that does not go to say that all of them felt that way. I had some amazing classes that were a pleasure to teach.

What sparked this blog post idea was that I recently found a letter a student wrote to me for disrupting my class. I don't remember the specific incident or the student, but it sounded like she got in trouble for taking another student's pen. Here is what she wrote:

Students from "The Freedom Writers" Movie

"Ms. LeBeau, I applogize for interupting your class. I just did not deserve to get blamed for a "pen." That was a very stupid thing to get blamed for. I was not having a good day but I was waiting for your class so I could just unwind and let all my stress go. But I had to worry about a pen. That was one of my best friends. She must have thought I was disrespecting her but I was not. She have been through a lot every time I argue I think about her and her situation. I did not mean to disrupt your class, I just had alot of bottled up anger and emotions inside. I did not mean to let that out in her class but I could not take any more."

This letter taught me that it wasn't me, the class, the material we were learning, etc. that made this student act out. She clearly had a bad day and her friend was going through some tough times. What do you think her friend's situation was? What can be done to help students stay focused in school when students are dealing with some complex issues?

The friend's situation could have been anything from normal adolescent issues to something more serious like an unintended pregnancy, death of a friend or family member, stress from poverty, homelessness, sexual abuse, rape, domestic violence, or some other sort of problems at home or in the community.

To help students who are dealing with a complex issue, teachers should be sensitive and aware of the challenges that students may face. Teachers can also encourage students to talk to others trusted adults at school like a guidance counselor, school social worker, nurse, and other appropriate support staff. In the classroom, it is important to make learning fun and engaging for the students.

For some more tips, watch Season 4 of "The Wire," and see how Mr. Prez-bo learned to connect with his students and make learning fun for students who were dealing with complex issues.

Books That Inspire Me

I just finished reading two very inspirational books, The Freedom Writers Diary and Teach With Your Heart: Lessons I Learned From the Freedom Writers. They're both about teens, education, and change.

In the mid-90s, Erin Gruwell, a young white women in her twenties, used innovative techniques to teach a group of at-risk youth in Long Beach, California. The teens she taught were from all different cultural backgrounds and most lived in neighborhoods where crime, gang violence, poverty, drugs, and teen pregnancy were the norm.

Erin's goal was to teach to the students, not to standardized tests. She encouraged many of them to put down their guns and fists and pick up a pen. She created a family like atmosphere in her classroom, room 203, and did a fabulous job of reaching her students and inspired change in even her toughest students. Using themes about racism and tolerance, she brought peace to her classroom in a community where an undeclared gang war had broken out.

One of my favorite parts of their story is when Maria, a tough Latina student who previously wore an ankle bracelet as part of her probation, stood up during the toast for change and said, "I don't want to be pregnant by the time I'm fifteen like my mother. I don't want to spend the rest of my life behind bars like my father. And I don't want to be six feet under by the time I turn eighteen like my cousin. I want to change!"

After reading the books, Erin Gruwell has become my role model. I can relate to her in many ways and we've shared some similar experiences working with teens. I truly admire her ways of building rapport and trust with her students and I plan on continuing to build those same types of relationships with my teen clients. I hope to inspire change in my clients as well by meeting them where they're at and having hope in each and every one of them, even the hard to reach clients.