Tears

Seeing the step-father of one of my failing students cry in myclassroom after school is one of the hardest things I have yet to see during my student teaching experience. His son is failing due to sheer lack of effort, and it is breaking his heart. He said that he is at wits end with this boy and that he can think of nothing to do to help him see the gravity of his poor decisions. As an educator, I feel obliged to help my students find success, but when they do not accept my help or the help of the supportive parents they have at their side, their situation becomes nearly helpless. The step-father fears that there is something larger going on in his son's life that is distracting him from his work, but he is not showing any outwardly signs at home or in my classroom of any changing or atypical behavior. He is failing now, and as the end of the trimester inches closer the likelihood of his passing is growing ever slimmer. I want to help, but how can you help someone unwilling to accept it? All I can do is offer and hope someone takes me up on it. The step-father's tears nearly brought me to tears because he so passionately wants success for his son, but is it increasingly out of reach and there is little I can do this late in the game to make up for the son's three month lack of effort. I can only hope that the heart to heart we had today changes his attitude about school, and he gives himself the opportunity to be successful.