Living in home situations with too much instability, whether emotional, financial or physical, too many of my students at first lack sufficient confidence and a sense of personal well-being to focus on academics. Distracted and feeling disoriented and disenfranchised, they crave a tremendous amount of what teachers call "scaffolding"—that is, step-by-step structure, support and praise.

Especially with this demographic, the act of teaching becomes much more effective, even joyful, when the teacher continually chooses to "catch" the kids doing well and praises them for it—even for acts as simple as being prepared with pencil and paper.

Positive Signals

As veteran teachers know, nothing much results from berating students. The teacher must create a safe environment that encourages students to grapple with, say, algebra and thinking symbolically. Hopefully, these students will finish high school and attend a community college or four-year university.

While they seem tough on the outside, many of these young adults will be far more emotionally insecure than those who grew up in the middle class. For the greater good of creating a more just society, are you also willing to help provide the scaffolding they need? When these young adults seek jobs in a few years, would you be willing to provide the requisite mentoring? But when they test your commitment to them, will you remain positive and encouraging and decide that they are not too much trouble to train, retain and promote? 

David B. Rosenbaum, a degreed civil and structural engineer and a former ENR editor in San Francisco, became a high school teacher in 2002. He now teaches math and engineering courses at Mount Diablo High School in Concord, Calif. Rosenbaum can be reached at rosenbaumd@mdusd.org.