R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

One of my students today explained to me that high school (and graduating from it) held no motivation for him. We'll call him Ivan. Ivan told me that he was interested in "other things."

"Like what?" I said. "A girl?"

"Nah, I don't sweat girls like that," he replied.

"You work somewhere?"

"Yeah, kinda."

"Bojangles?"

"Nah, bra! Nasty."

(At this point, it's slowly dawning on me what he means.)

"So, do you make a LOT of money at your job?", I prodded.

"Yeah."

"Is it something you might get in trouble for?"

"Well, you a teacher, so..."

The conversation continued, and he basically intimated to me that he is a drug dealer. After the initial anger and disappointment had subsided in me, I remembered something I had learned in a Bible study I did with some of my best friends.

Men, young and old, want two things more than anything else in the world:
1) To be respected
2) To feel accomplished

While I'm devastated that Ivan is on that road right now, it made total sense to me. He's very smart, but school work doesn't come easily to him. It offers no prestige or profit. Its tangible benefits are essentially long-term.

On the other hand, his growing enterprise brought him a sizable paycheck -- or at least, sizable to a 15-year old who's never held a $20 bill by any other means. Even more importantly, he gains the respect of his peers as the "guy who can get it for you." (See Morgan Freeman's character in The Shawshank Redemption.)

Most high school teachers will tell you their toughest job is not planning lessons or developing themselves professionally. It is, by a mile, motivating teenagers who struggle to envision a time beyond the immediate moment. Our continuing goal is to paint our students a picture of a future where they are respected, competent, accomplished, and successful... all on terms which benefit not only themselves, but everyone around them.

p.s. My beautiful little girl, Lily Paige Jones, is here. That's a picture of her at the top of this post.