Dealing with Apathetic Students in today’s Classrooms

Apathy.

It has to be the most frustrating word to a teacher’s ears. Today’s classrooms, while likely no different than yesterday’s, host a number of students who literally just do not care. The question, therefore, is how do we as teachers deal with students who are apathetic about our classroom, our subject, or just education in general?

When I think of apathy, one particular student comes to mind. For the sake of this article, we’ll call him Joe. One day, while circulating to check students' progress, I noticed that Joe hadn’t completed his work. As a matter of fact, he had barely started. Across the top of his page, only the first two letters of his name was completed. He was too lazy to even finish his name! Being the stickler I am for getting the most out of my students, I later called him to my desk to have a one on one discussion with a student I knew little about.

It was early in the year and I was new to the job. What I learned about Joe that day will forever interest me as an educator. I asked him why he hadn’t completed his work, and unlike the many students who look away, shrug, or get offensive, he calmly and respectfully said, “I just don’t like doing work. It’s just not for me.”

Ok… I asked him how his grades were in other classes; he said he was failing all his other classes with the exception of a vocational class. I explained to him that at the rate he was going, he was going to finish with a near 2% in my class. He said that’s ok, he didn’t mind. I told him it would really be in his best interest to complete the work so he could earn a good grade. He respectfully said, “That’s OK. I just don’t like doing work.” I then asked him about his parents, would they care if he simply failed all of his classes. He calmly said, “Nah, they know. They don’t care.” (As it turns out, they really didn’t.)

Joe was apathetic. He didn’t care about his work. He didn’t care about his grade. He didn’t care about his future. I was surprised to find out that Joe had a job working in fast food; it was a job he intended to do for the rest of his life and he was ok with that. So the question remains, how do we influence students like Joe to take charge of their live when they don’t care, their parents don’t care, and there’s no punishment around that can possibly change their mind?

Gain Their Respect

Let us take to the internet to discuss a variety of ways we can get Joe to care about his future. According to the Teacher Effectiveness Program (TEP), “Try building a relationship with these students. Take an interest in them to find out what’s at the bottom of the perceived apathy.” I can agree with this statement. In the case of Joe, we know that his apathy likely derived from his home life and the values he was raised with. By connecting with Joe, and learning who he is as an individual, we’re able to gain his respect. Once we have that, Joe will complete his work to keep your respect, and in the long run, gain an appreciation for the subject matter.

Give Them a Reason to Care

Teacherhub has a different take on student apathy. They say, “We all know it’s never as simple as students just don’t care.” While many teachers will swear by the fact that their students do not care and there’s no reason for it, Teacherhub is probably right. In Joe’s case, his home life or possibly seeing school as a waste of time was probably the source of his apathy. In this case, it’s important to explore their hopes and dreams in order to relate it to your source material. Perhaps you can give them a reason to care about the skills you’re teaching.

Hold Students to High Standards

Teacherhub also mentions, “Hold your child or your students to high standards.” While very important, I find this very difficult to accomplish with apathetic students. For example, let’s say I hold Joe to a very high standard. He comes in with his work barely started let alone completed. What am I to do? Of course giving his a bad grade is obvious, but Joe doesn’t care about his grade. How do I hold Joe accountable for his lack of effort? Do I punish him? Joe would much rather spend the day in detention than have me standing over his shoulder. He would much rather be suspended, before for Joe, home is the best place to be. So what do I do? I feel this is where we must show how much we care. Sitting Joe down and explaining why it’s important that he completes his work one more time is called for here. We have to express our disappointment and show Joe that while he may not care about his future, we do. Perhaps then his next assignment will come in on time.

What do you guys think? Please, take the time to drop a comment below. I would love to discuss this topic with you. Do you have any stories like Joe? If so, how did you handle it and how did it work out?