One of the most frustrating aspects of teaching is dealing with a "lazy" student. A lazy student can be defined as a student who has the intellectual capacity to excel but never realizes his potential because he chooses not to do the work necessary to maximize his ability. Most teachers will tell you that they would rather have a group of struggling students who work hard, instead of a group of strong students who are lazy.
It is extremely important that teachers evaluate a child thoroughly before labeling him as "lazy." Through that process, teachers may discover that there is much more to do than just laziness. It is also important that you never tag them as such publicly.
Doing so can have a lasting negative impact that stays with them for a lifetime. Instead, teachers should always advocate for their students and teach them the skills necessary to overcome any obstacles that prevent them from maximizing their potential.
Example scenario
A fourth grade teacher has a student who constantly fails to complete or turn in assignments. This has been an ongoing problem. Student scores inconsistently in formative assessments and has average intelligence. He participates in class discussions and group work, but is almost challenging when it comes to completing written work.
The teacher has met with his parents a couple of times. Together, they have tried to take away privileges at home and at school, but that has proven ineffective in deterring the behavior. Throughout the year, the teacher has observed that the student has trouble writing in general. When he writes, he is almost always illegible and sloppy at best. What's more, the student works at a much slower rate on homework than their peers, which often causes him to have a much higher homework load than his peers… and this frustrates him.
This is a problem that almost all teachers face at some point. It is troublesome and can be frustrating for teachers and parents. First, having parental support on this issue is essential. Second, it is important to determine whether or not there is an underlying problem that affects the student's ability to complete work accurately and in a timely manner. Laziness may turn out to be the problem, but it can also be something else entirely.
Think about what really happens
As a teacher, you will always be looking for signs that a student may need specialized services such as speech, occupational therapy, counseling, or special education. Occupational therapy appears to be a possible need for the student described above.
An occupational therapist works with children who lack fine motor skills, such as handwriting. They teach these students techniques that allow them to improve and overcome these deficiencies. The teacher should make a referral to the school's occupational therapist, who will then conduct a thorough evaluation of the student and determine whether or not occupational therapy is necessary for them. If deemed necessary, the occupational therapist will begin to work with the student regularly to help him gain the skills he is missing.
Is it really laziness?
You need to understand that this behavior will not change overnight. It will take time for the student to develop the habit of completing and submitting all their work and above all, of being motivated for change, so working with self-esteem is very important too.
Working together with parents, a plan will need to be made to make sure they know what tasks to complete at home each night. You can send home a notebook or email parents a to-do list each day. From there, it holds the student accountable for completing their work and turning it in to the teacher. Inform the student that when they turn in, for example, five missing / incomplete assignments, there will be consequences. As parents continue to cooperate, the student will begin to form healthy habits by completing and turning in assignments.
It is very important that when there is a student who does not perform the tasks well, they are not classified as "lazy", but instead of using labels, they look for the reason for what happens to them and find solutions according to them.