Ashley was a problem student. I had veteran teachers sharing horror stories from their classrooms before school started my second year of teaching. She had been to alternative school and back again multiple times. According to one of the sixth grade teachers, she smashed her face into a window when she got upset one day. My principal worried about her getting violent or cussing out a teacher. And I, being the non-confrontational person that I am, tiptoed around her for as long as could while also pushing her to get her work done.

 

But you can’t ignore bad behavior. At this point, I don’t remember why I pulled Ashley out into the hallway. Probably refusing to do her work, if I had to guess. Whatever the cause or reason, we were out in the hallway – like we would be many times that year – and I tried to make my case.

 

“I don’t care what other teachers have said to you,” I told Ashley, “or if they gave up on you. But I will always expect you to come into my class and do your work. I want you to pass but you’re going to have to work with me.”

 

Very cliché movie-teacher moment, I know, but that’s where equality in the classroom starts. You have no control over the students you get. However, you can and you must believe that every one of your students can learn and should have the opportunity to earn an education. They will absorb information in different ways and in different amounts and take away different key ideas from your lessons, but every student has the ability to learn something new. Even if, like Ashley, they fight you every step of the way.