Reasons why there are many “Difficult to Handle” students in the public schools

As the years pass, the generation of students also modernizes. I think the last generation of students who were very respectful and are still very full of values were those of the 90’s generation (this is not biased; this is based on thorough observance). After those years, the group of students who followed were not of the same flat.

Fast forward to our recent education system wherein the students are given more priorities and importance and even well protected by law, it seemed to me that there are at least 30% out of 100% students who belonged to the “difficult to handle” students in the school.  What do you think is the difference of the children before and of our children today? Why there are more difficult and hard-headed students recently compared to before? Would you just believe when others tell you that “students are different in the modern times because of what they drink and eat”? Some others say that “students differ from before because of constant change”, would you rather believed that? Well, in some cases, we cannot force our students to do what we want them to do like robots anymore but I believed that it depends on how they were being brought up. Well, maybe, but we teachers and even you who are not teachers should at least try to analyze what are the reasons for these students to become “really difficult to handle” in class. Below are some of the reasons that we need to understand and consider.

REASONS WHY THERE ARE “DIFFICULT TO HANDLE” STUDENTS IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS:

1. NEGLECTED BY THEIR PARENTS

There are some parents who neglected their duties as a parent to their children. They are physically present but they can never be reached by their children. This is rampant in our students in the public schools, wherein sometimes the parents gave all the responsibilities to the teachers even though it is their responsibility to guide their children at home. Teachers are only the second parents; the real parents should be the first one to inculcate the different values needed for their children to progress in life. Other parents are busy in their work and busy earning to the extent that they disregard their children’s whereabouts. This is why there are students who are emotional in the classroom and even we call them “papansin” ort those who liked to always catch the attention of others, in short attention seeker. Neglected students often resort to do things which will make them be the center of attraction. Teachers find it difficult to handle these cases sometimes but it takes a lot of effort to properly guide a student neglected.

2. PARENTS GOT SEPARATED

This is very common in our classroom setting wherein both parents separated, then the most painful part is that the children were left to the custody of their grandparent because the mother and the farther both have new families. The children are then scared and left without anyone whom they can trust except for their grandparents (if still alive). Most students who are left because their parents got separated are very emotional. They cry at the sight of very little problems. Other students resort to suicide. It is very difficult on the part of a teacher to handle suicidal students. Others even become more complicated and get pregnant early. These are all because no one guides them to the right path.

3. ABUSED STUDENTS

There are different kinds of abuse we can think of but most common in the public schools are those abused verbally or physically. This reason maybe rare but it really happened to some of the students that led them to become more difficult to handle because of what they are going through (rape victim students for example). It maybe physical, emotionally or verbally as long as a student is abused, he/she will not behave like a normal student inside a classroom.

4. BULLIED STUDENTS

Though most of us have experienced bullying in schools but those that are bullied to the highest level may be affected mentally or emotionally. It is never easy for a bullied student to cope up with everyday life having to endure the pain of being bullied by anybody most commonly the classmates. Bullied students tend to become more violent and emotional and some others are suicidal.

5. STUDENTS WHO WORK TO HELP FEED THEIR FAMILIES DESPITE YOUNG AGE

Those students who are always absent in your class because of their responsibility at an early age. In most cases in the public schools, students who work to help their families or become the breadwinner are more difficult to handle in the sense that you need to always follow up the whereabouts because most of them only report to school once a week or some others, even trice a month only.

6. LESS FORTUNATE STUDENTS WHO LACKS ENERGY BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT FED WITH THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF FOOD

There are students who go to school hungry because their family can only afford a little. This will surely affect the mental ability of the student for sure (I have students they are siblings and they cannot read properly and they always got low scores during exams because of this reason). Some teachers will have to feed these students sometimes to help them comprehend with their discussions.

Classroom teachers who have 40 to 50 students to look up to like his/her own children should really be patient enough to handle different behavior and personality of the students. It is really important to know wholeheartedly each individual student to better understand them and help them survive in this modern circle of education. I still believe that it is up to the students on how to succeed in life but without a teacher’s guidance, a student can never be completed physically, mentally and emotionally. As a teacher, you have to touch the lives of your students and let them realize which path they like to go in the near future. Clea | Helpline PH