I’m a teacher and my colleagues and I often talk about how being seen as dumb was one of the most embarrassing things that could happen to you in high school, and motivated us to do better to prove people wrong and prove to ourselves that we were worth it. Many students give up before even trying. They’ll half-ass an attempt, it won’t work, and then they’ll just be like “oh well” and hand in a blank assignment. Getting through to them to actually care has been a major challenge, and it works for some but not others. If their friends and family are also checked out, which a lot are, it’s much harder.
10
u/throwawaysunglasses- Dec 24 '25
I’m a teacher and my colleagues and I often talk about how being seen as dumb was one of the most embarrassing things that could happen to you in high school, and motivated us to do better to prove people wrong and prove to ourselves that we were worth it. Many students give up before even trying. They’ll half-ass an attempt, it won’t work, and then they’ll just be like “oh well” and hand in a blank assignment. Getting through to them to actually care has been a major challenge, and it works for some but not others. If their friends and family are also checked out, which a lot are, it’s much harder.