Have you ever questioned why so many students stop short of completing a semester or even graduating when they are so close to doing so? A student who is giving up will not react well to pressure or criticism. When a student “gives up”, it isn’t because they don’t know what to do. Verify that they are still participating in lessons by keeping a close eye on them.

So, as a teacher, how can you help the students that give up? Here are some tips for you.

Reasons Why Students Give Up

So why do so many teenagers give up just a few weeks after a semester ends? Here are four main reasons:

Fearful

They are afraid of the future because they don’t know what life will be like in the “adult world” or because they are afraid of growing up in general. It’s normal to feel afraid, yet someone who is overwhelmed with fears can often become indecisive and “zone out”.

They completely deny what is happening to their grades and future because avoiding reality is easier than facing it. Some simply let themselves sink and do this passively, while others make an effort to escape reality by abusing drugs or media.

But if teenagers allow fear to get in the way of their future success, there is no escaping the end of a semester and the end of academic dreams.

Friends

Birds of a feather do flock together, and in a crowded classroom, unmotivated students can find one another. Students with a strong sense of self-discipline and motivation push each other to achieve more, whereas the opposite is true for students who lack self-discipline.

To avoid facing their academic future, your child might start hanging out with the wrong crowd. Sometimes it’s to irritate their parents, but more often than not it’s because they don’t fit in with the “winners” at the front of the race, so they just sit down and hang out with those who appear to not care about the educational race they are in.

The uncertainty and doubt in their eyes can be seen if you look closely.

Frustrated

Parents and teachers could be included in this group, but I’m primarily thinking of students who are trying, but for some reason, things aren’t working out for them. They want to put on a strong showing at the end, but they don’t have the strength to really surge ahead of the crowd.

These students are in grave danger because they will have to make a difficult decision:

• finish with mediocre results and try again next semester
• just check out to avoid feeling the pain of not performing to their potential

This is especially true for highly intelligent or creative students who partied or put off studying until the last minute and then struggled to get good grades.

The person closest to them, usually a mother, is the target of their rage, which frequently results from frustration. It’s unfair, but it nonetheless occurs because they allowed their anger to take control, which prevents them from completing the task successfully.

Failing

Sadly, because they stopped participating a long time ago, this group is the easiest to identify. When a student reaches this point, they are so unmotivated that they stop trying even the most straightforward of tasks, causing their grades to “free fall” to zero.

Complete failure destroys confidence and many people’s desire to try again, which motivates many students to drop out of school without finishing their studies.

As A Teacher, How Can You Help?

These students need their own plans and they need to know what they need to do. They will be much more motivated to continue if their education is truly personalized and divided into manageable chunks.

We can take action on this well before it appears that a student will give up. Instead of talking about differentiation, I want to make sure that students understand what is expected of them so they are not taken by surprise later on in the school year.

The worst case scenario is where a student “gives up” in the lead-up to simply assume that they can drop out of GCSE or A-Level exams.

As a staff, we must recognize early on when this is frequently not possible and work to make them understand the intended outcome. When work piles up and deadlines for coursework approach before an exam, it can be challenging.

Therefore, even if the rest of the class is making progress, we must make sure that we are watching out for them.

There is that temptation to just say – “Well it’s your GCSE, your choice,” but these are young people with pressures on them and sometimes they lack the mental stability to see a way forward.

In spite of the fact that in an ideal world every student would care, some simply don’t, teachers can’t always leave it to them. And there may be a wide variety of causes for that.

What Can Inspire Students To Get Back?

Insight

Since they already know so much about the student’s personality, character, and motivations, this frequently starts with the parent who is closest to the child.

To rekindle the fire of desire in someone who may have given up, it takes insight to see it and then the courage to persevere.

Interests

Once you have identified the qualities you are seeking in a student—their gifts, talents, abilities, or skills—the next step is to show them how their special abilities can be applied to something so compelling that they are eager to attend class and learn more.

The adage “the curious never gets bored” is accurate. When a student is motivated to pursue something they find interesting, they may become absorbed in the subject they are studying and lose track of time.

Important

Discovering what is important to them is the next step in inspiring a student to pursue the subjects that interest them. This will help them feel more motivated. What do they value, what do they engage in, and what do they support?

Everyone has a belief in something, but many people don’t take the time to research their motivations for joining causes or activities.

Identity

A student is actually fulfilling their purpose and having fun when they have discovered who they are and what they enjoy doing. Perhaps the huge success of the Disney High School Musical movies is in that they show what most students would like their school experience to be.

A young person is extremely enthusiastic about attending school at this stage because it is easy to stay in the race when one knows why one is there. In fact, it makes it simple to move on from a setback and move forward with a renewed commitment to finish strongly!

What Specific Actions As Teachers Can We Take?

1. Create a customized plan for each student. Additional after-school sessions or more focused review sessions could be involved.
2. Examine whether they would benefit from assistance from a more seasoned student who has already passed the course and may be able to assist them with revision or learning.
3. Make sure you are knowledgeable about your students’ backgrounds. We frequently are aware of SEN and learning challenges, but it’s possible that there are additional factors at work that we should be aware of. Get to know your support team and LSA team at school because they can be of assistance.
4. Ask for advice from other staff members and determine whether the issue is one that affects students generally or is subject-specific. There are times when it is subject-specific because they have given up on your subject. But frequently there is a bigger problem, so it might be beneficial to inform other staff members.
5. It’s important to keep in touch with the family, but consider speaking with the student first. Assist them in their learning by giving them a heads-up, working closely with them, and developing a positive professional relationship.
6. Students should be taught to have a growth mindset; you are not there yet. If you’re not familiar with the concept of growth mindsets, I recommend reading up on it because it’s a fascinating field for teachers to explore.