“Good” or “Bad”

According to Kumashiro’s common sense, “good” students apparently make the lives of the teachers easier. They do what they are told and follow every rule in the school. Students are considered “bad” if they act out of the norm within the school. If they talk out of turn or answer questions indifferently or incorrectly. This is got my attention because there are many types of learners and students. Just because one student does not do everything the school expects them to do does not mean they are “bad”. Some “bad” students may be portrayed as misbehaved but they want to learn and behave just like every other student in classrooms. I feel like this may also come from some teachers preferences on how they want their students to act. If students act out of the teacher’s preference, they are seen as not ideal. In other words “bad”. As teachers, we have a duty to adapt to these so-called “bad” students and give them options on how to learn and act in the classroom. We should not be so quick to call them good or bad kids.

The students that benefit from the definition of a good student are the ones who sit down quietly and do what they are told. When I look back to my experiences from high school some of the students who did this were not necessarily behaved, polite, or outstanding. At the same time, the “bad” students were not necessarily misbehaved, mean, or terrible. Although, I did see some privileges being given to the good students for just following rules. Teachers would speak differently to students and it seemed like they chose favourites.

It may be impossible to seek the good in students if you are already under the impression of them being “bad”. Teachers might not see what some students are capable of if they had already given up and closed the door on them. In my opinion, this happens a lot, which is very unfair to some kids who haven’t tapped into their potential.