FAILURE CONTRACT

What do you do with the students who aren’t doing anything? They just

sit there and do nothing. They don’t participate. They are not a

behavior problem; they just choose to do nothing.

John was such a student. He did nothing! First I reviewed his cum

folder for insight as to his past history to see if there was a

pattern. More often than not there is a history including a lack of

motivation, or sometimes a sudden, negative shift in performance. In

John’s case he had shown a lack of motivation since fourth grade. Up

until that time he had been an A student. There was no indication of

any special needs. He was capable of doing the work. I met with John

privately. He was surprised that he was failing, in spite of notices to

him and to his parents, he was unbelievable surprised. I alerted him to

the great possibility that he would ultimately fail the semester unless

he chose a different course of action.

I asked how he was doing in his other classes. He replied, “Fine!”

After discussion with the other teachers, I discovered he was failing

two more classes! I contacted his parents again and encouraged them to

arrange for a conference with all of his teachers at the same time. The

conference was called. We each gave input and created a contract with

his input. The conference was over and agreement was made he would

concentrate on completing his homework. His parents were supportive and

it seemed John was on the way to improvement.

However, after two weeks of constant reminders, notes home, and phone

calls John had not made any effort to follow the contract. I was

understanding, I was firm, I was helpful, I was available. Still no

improvement. I was giving John most of my energy. Everything we tried

as a team failed. In desperation I tried another tactic. Without great

emotion, I told John that it was clear that he had chosen to fail. I

would respect his decision, therefore, I was going to give him a new

contract, a Failure Contract.

The contract stated that he would not participate in class. He would

not turn in homework. He would just sit in the back of the room and do

nothing. In turn, I would not hassle him about work. He would receive

a failing grade for the entire semester. This contract was immediately

put into effect for two weeks. After the two weeks he could decide if

he wanted to continue the contract or write a new one for success. He

signed the contact, I signed the contract, and after a long discussion

with his parents, they sighed the contract. This was only for my

class. Naturally he bragged to the other students about his special

contract and the following Monday I explained to the class that John had

chosen to not participate in class for the next two weeks and perhaps

the rest of the semester at a great cost. If they had any further

questions about the great cost they would need to talk to John. That

was it. From that point on I treated John as if he didn’t exist. I

was polite, kind, but expressed little emotion. Whenever he would start

to get involved with other students, I reminded him he needed to get

back to the work of doing nothing at his desk. After the first week I

could tell that he was very uncomfortable. He wanted to interact with

his friends. He was not getting any attention from me. I was not even

hassling him. At the end of the two weeks I calmly called him to my

desk to make a decision. We were starting a new class project and we

would be working in groups. Did he want to participate or return to his

contract. He stated that he wanted to participate. I told him to write

a new contract and submit it to me with a description of what he was

willing to do. I firmly informed him that his participation would

effect his failing grade. That if he wanted to fail, this was not the

way to go. I could tell he was absolutely bewildered by my response.

It seemed that the more I let go, the more he chose a course of

responsible action. John did pass the class with a C.

Periodically I checked in with him to see if he wanted to return to the

old one. I carefully planned my actions so that I would be perceived as

very calm and matter of fact. After all, his choice was about his

life. In retrospect, I remember that this unorthodox approach gave me

peace of mind and put the responsibility where it should have

been…back to the student. This is an approach I would use

selectively. The parents and the school administration must be

included.

From Dr Arlene Kaiser’s Book Empowerment in the Classroom

Arlene can be reached for speaking engagements as well information on the book at 408-946-4444

– Dr. Arlene Kaiser