As mentioned before, the student who I am focusing on will be referred to as Bill.

He is a ninth grader in my general ninth grade English class. His problematic behaviors consist of talking/distracting other students, getting out of his seat and traveling around the room, and not completing assignments or tasks inside or outside of the classroom. In aims to correct the students misbehaviors, I have generated two hypotheses as to why Bill elicits such behavior. The first hypothesis is that Bill wants to avoid failure. He will talk to other students or get out of his seat, so he does not have to engage in the lessons or the work involved in the class. He refuses to do tasks given to him because he rather fail from not doing the work rather than fail because of his ability. R. J. Marzano in his text, What Works in Schools: Translating Research into Action, states, [S]tudents who are failure avoidant are generally not [motivated by challenges]. In fact, those students who are failure avoidant might develop self-handicapping strategies that ensure they fail for reasons other than lack of ability (145). Marzano points out how students who avoid failure take actions that lead to failure. Bill wonders around the room and talks to other students because these actions create a self-handicap. The work I give in class is challenging, so Bill becomes unmotivated and reverts back to behaviors and actions that make him more comfortable with himself, such as making a joke to his peers. In Bills mind, he is not doing well on the assignments because he is too busy socializing, which is something that he is good at doing. The second hypothesis is that Bill sees no purpose in doing the assignments and, therefore, participates in other behaviors other than school. More specifically, Bill envisions the purpose of high school as the first step for college, and he does not see himself as college bound. He does not understand that the English class will help him improve his skills for obtaining other jobs/careers, which do not require a college education. Furthermore, he does not realize that he is in fact capable of being college bound. In his text, The Moral North Star, William Damon explains, In research for the Stanford Youth Purpose Projectapproximately a quarter of our sample [of students] had little interest in long-term goals of any kind Some were content with their purposelessness, seeming to enjoy the hedonistic opportunities that this state of mind offered (10-11). Bill has told me on several occasions that he wanted to be a homeless person after high school. He added that he was just fine with being homeless. Damon illustrates how, statistically, there is a large number of students who feel this lack of purpose. Instead of avoiding failure, Bill may lack a sense of purpose and self-worth. Bill is not avoiding to do work but believes that high school is only for those going to college. Therefore, he does not need to do the work because he is only going to find work that does not require higher education. As for his schoolwork, Bill does not receive passing grades. For instance, on every quiz that I have given the class, Bill has only passed one. He seems to have a lack of understanding for the concepts and skills that are being assessed. On his assignments, he does not turn anything in, so I am unable to see where he is confused and needs help. Overall, it appears that Bill lacks the work ethic involved to successfully complete assignments. Also, the lack of focus in class causes a lack of understanding over the concepts and skills being taught.

When I am teaching Bills class, I will go over to him numerous times and ask him why he is not doing his work. I also encourage him to stay after school, so I can help him. However, I noticed that my lessons are dry and not as exciting as Bill would want them to be. My lessons might also appear as intimidating because I hold high expectations for my students. Bill might see these high expectations and initiate his self-handicapping techniques. For instance, I will teach coordinating conjunctions and proper comma placement. Then, students will work on an assignment to practice this new concept. This is when Bill will move about the room or distract others. He might not have a great enough grasp of the concepts and fail the assignment because of his socializations rather than attempts. By talking to his friends, his friends laughter at his jokes might encourage his avoidance of failure because of the positive social gain of acceptance. On the other hand, Bill might view the concepts as meaningless; he does not have to practice the concepts because he will never use the concepts outside of school. For each lesson, assignment, or task, it might be helpful to provide the significance of learning the material: significance for those who are going to college and those who are not. I do not simply teach students for a life in college but for all students. Bill needs to understand this idea. He also might see more purpose in strengthening his relationships with his friends than focusing on his schoolwork. Work Cited Marzano, R. J. (2003). What works in schools: Translating research into action. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Damon, William (2008). The Moral North Star. Wilson Web: Educ Leadership.