Jeff for America

Vick is popular among the ladies for his looks and sly demeanor and well liked among the boys for his skills on the basketball court. He always stands out in the hallway or in class, party because he is tall, but mostly because he is Muslim and wears traditional dress instead of our school uniform. There is something about him that people notice, but not always for his positive traits.

Vick struggled in the first months of school. Until November, I was having a hard time getting his attention, let alone keeping it. No matter what I did he was distracted and no matter where I sat him he was talkative. He was scoring poorly on my assessments and I watched him leave my class everyday with little evidence that he had learned anything at all. In my lowest-performing class, Vick was becoming to seem unreachable.

One day, without much forethought, I offered him a deal. He had been especially calm that day in class and I approached him on his exit from the room with a dollar bill in hand. “Vick,” I yelled before he slipped out my door, “I have a proposition.” I told him that I was giving him a dollar for the day. The reason – his improved behavior and attentiveness that day in class. I wanted to immediately reward him for it, and happened to have a dollar in my pocket. It seemed logical, but I wasn’t going to lead him to believe he was going to profit from history class. As part of the agreement, he owed me the dollar if he ever fell back to his old ways. If he was reprimanded, or off task, or sleeping in class- he needed to give me the dollar back. A bit unconventional, and certainly a form of bribery, Vick bought into it and came back the next day with a smirk on his face.

Needless to say, Vick made significant improvements in class after our exchange. For the weeks and months following, he excelled in class. He never talked, hushed his peers when they were out of order, and started to score better on my tests and quizzes. Before my eyes, Vick was transforming himself into a serious and focused student. There was a day, though, when Vick faltered. I walked up to him after class and outstretched my hand. He knew exactly what I was asking for, and removed a crisp $1 bill from his pocket. I snatched it and told him to earn it back tomorrow. He did, and I haven’t seen that dollar since. In fact, Vick recently scored the highest in his class on my benchmark quiz. I announced his score in class to recognize his achievement – a 97% – far above his classmates, even at par with the highest-performing students in my other classes. It was evidence of a legit turnaround. As I made my announcement, I saw him blush for the first time. The big bad Vick was being shy. Behind the hand that covered his face, and the eyes that were diverted to the ground, I know Vick was beaming inside. Just as much as I needed to see something tangible come from his hard work, he wanted to feel like he was doing something right.

I don’t take credit for Vick’s successes this year. At the very best, my method was a catalyst for Vick to realize his behavior could change, and that he could benefit from it. At the very least, I found a classroom management technique that worked for one kid. An investment I’m willing to make, as long as it doesn’t catch on.

- Jeff