Overcoming "Learned Helplessness"

Nothing hurts a teacher more than to see a student struggling. This feeling can be compounded by students who feel that they are too dumb to learn. Whether they have learned this by being told so, or whether it is through an innate sense of low self esteem, it can be combatted with proven strategies.

Some of which include the following:

• Allowing natural consequences to occur and to provide avenues for repair. This mandates setting up or altering the environment to proved less support or sabotage.
• Developing a brief daily report to parents that is given to them by the student.
• Build a daily expectation of class communication through specific activities and allowing the students to pick the activity.