Tuesday, August 24, 2021

Laziness is Fear

In Discipline vs. fairness from Seth Godin's Blog, Seth Godin shares,

“The opposite of discipline is actually laziness, and that’s often associated with fear. Fear of responsibility and fear of the truth. Responsibility and truth are required if we’re going to get on the right track.”

Sometimes when my students appear lazy, it is actually because they are immobilized by fear. You have heard the saying, “deer in headlights?” That is exactly what my students remind me of when I announce we are starting some new skill. They immediately go on the defensive and I can feel the “fight or flight” atmosphere infect the whole class. My students seem to be thinking of ways they can get out of this situation immediately. Suddenly some students find the need to desperately go to the bathroom. Others begin to act silly to distract the class. Some may start doing something at their desks rather than pay attention to what I’m saying. All of these things are common for my students. They are so used to failure that they fear taking the risk to learn something new. Many are not willing to fall down one more time.

It is this situation that makes my introduction to a new lesson so important! I need to find the “hook” that makes them want to learn more. I want them to be just a little curious enough to want to learn a little more. I want them to be just a little interested that they want to fight to learn instead of taking flight. By being really excited about my lesson, they will want to know what the excitement is all about. They can choose to exhibit their defensive behaviors after they find out what this is all about. Then when they get hooked, they will forget about their defensive behaviors.

While I’m getting them excited about the lesson, I continually let them know that they are not alone. They can ask me for help or they can ask their classmates. We will learn together. Knowing that they are not alone is also helpful to the students. When you feel safer, it is easier to take risks.

So when students look lazy, I need to look beyond their behavior. I need to ask myself why they are acting this way. Usually, I find out that none of my students are lazy. They are just afraid. Wouldn’t I act the same way if I had intense fear? How would I behave if I knew there was someone there to catch me if I fell?

How do you get your students past the fear? Please share.

Photo by Anderson Rian on Unsplash

No comments: