Beware of the quiet ones

February 15, 2007
I'm still struggling to learn everyone's names, but there are certainly a few in each class who draw a lot of attention and are the easiest to remember. I quickly found myself making false assumptions about who were "good students" based on their behavior. I took the noisy ones to be disruptive and less caring about the class while the quiet ones were more respectful and dedicated... when, in fact, it was practically just the opposite.

The quiet ones were more likely to be behind on work and afraid to draw attention to themselves in case they might be called on. Certainly, the noisy ones can be disruptive to the class, but they are also more likely to contribute when called upon and generally have better grades. Interestingly, there don't seem to be many in between: students who sit quietly AND do well on their grades.

It is important for teachers to give all students equal attention and a fair chance to get good grades while adapting lessons to all learning styles. This observation, however, helps me understand who might need more assistance, who needs to be brought into conversations and how to match up students for assignments and activities.

Then I found a third breed of students who would try to get buddy-buddy with me. I quickly detected their behavior as attempts to deceive me into being more relaxed on discipline for them, and they certainly proved to test my limits in days to come. Kids spend at least 12 years in school, constantly looking for ways to work the system and outsmart their teachers. Being able to "read" a student and "play the field" - being constant aware of the entire classroom is an essential skill for teachers that can only be learned through experience and over time.