I was hesitant to try any strict solutions at first for fear of pushing him away because of a talk I had with the VP about his home life, or lack thereof. Billy ray's father left him and his mother when he was around 8 and they have been bouncing from shelter to shelter for the most part ever since. Just before school started, the mother elected to move in with her current boyfriend, much to the dismay of Billy Ray. He has indicated no friction between himself and his mother’s boyfriend, but admits to holding deep resentment towards heis mother for making this decision. From his writing I can tell he partly blames himself for father leaving and is holding on to the hope that they might be a family again.
My first approach was talking with him after class and at lunch about what is going on (school wise). This is where I get “two Billy Rays”. In our talks, he understands that he needs to buckle down and put in more effort, but this is all talk. He does exactly the opposite of what he says he is going to do or change. He has been turning in work late and trying to make up, but gets discouraged when I take points off (not even that much, 15 points max) for the work being late. I take points off in the hope it will prompt him to turn in work on time to avoid this penalty, but it has not worked.
I have come to the conclusion that nice guy tactics are not working. After a conversation with my cooperating teacher we have agreed to be much more firm with him. We think he is trying to be cool and be seen as a rebel and is scared to be seen as wanting to do work. We will take care of this for him by either forcing him to do work to stay in class, or send him to the VP’s office every day. We think this will let him hang on to his perceived rebelness because it is us forcing him to do work, and he has no choice. Am I right in doing this? Another question is how to manage frustration from both myself and other students? It is obvious he has been able to get away with a lot while other students are held accountable, but hopefully our new approach in dealing with him will gain me some respect back from the rest of the class. Lastly, how far is too far to push him? I want to find that goldilocks zone of firmness and compassion for his life outside of school.