Work Avoidance and Refusal in the Middle School Classroom

If a student could do it, they would do it.

This is my mantra when I have a kiddo who is avoiding or refusing to work. Of course, this is easier said than done when I’ve given directions, repeated directions, hyped a kid up, modified their assignment, asked about their football game from the weekend and beyond.

We all have our teacher tricks and tips to help kids work through different blocks, and it's frustrating when they don’t move the needle. We can feel like failures or get trapped in the dreaded power struggle of doom where teachers are, quite frankly, no match for the energy and stubbornness of the adolescent.

Every child wants to feel successful at school, even those who act as if they don’t care.

Particularly when we are worn down, it can be easy to assign value judgments of laziness or lack of effort, but those judgments are often superficial. As a parallel, many adults strive to be healthy and fit. We know what to do: exercise daily, eat more vegetables, avoid the desserts – yet it remains elusive for many due to a host of complex factors.

When a student refuses to work or says they can't, I believe them. I, of course, believe they are capable, but I believe that they think they can’t.

Work refusal is communication. All behavior is communication. When a child is communicating they can’t or won’t, you are up against something deeper than work ethic. Often, the root of the problem lies with the negative thoughts students are having about the work.¹ Students won’t engage if they don’t think they’ll be successful, and that refusal becomes a powerful protective mechanism.²

When I see this in the classroom, I run a diagnostic check on the thoughts a student might be having. Examples of those thoughts might be:

• I hate writing.
• This is going to take forever.
• She’s going to tell me I’m wrong.
• I wasn’t listening and have no idea what to do.
• This is boring.

Depending on the student, I try to have them name the thought they’re having because there’s relief that comes in saying it out loud and having someone hear it. Once we’ve identified the thoughts together, our job becomes to help interrupt the thought pattern and teach strategies that can help. All of these strategies work with the thoughts the student is having instead of fighting against them.

If a student is anxious about attending to a task for an extended period, aka this is going to take forever, time blocking the task is helpful. This may look like:

• Asking the student to set a mini-goal. “How many questions do you think you can try before you get too tired or annoyed?” Take what they give you and believe them. You’re meeting them where they are, building trust, and growth can be built upon anything they give you.
• Set a timer for an obscure length of time the student will work independently. “I’m going to set a timer on my watch for 6.5 minutes, and then I’m going to be back and rescue you if you’re stuck.” Whatever you do here, do not lose track of that time because that student is watching the clock more than you realize.

When a student is avoiding a certain task or subject area, task-combining with something pleasant is a great strategy. I explain to kids that I can only exercise when listening to music or fold laundry while watching a show. Combining something pleasant with uncomfortable tasks can take the edge off resistance to work in the classroom.

Some questions to consider:

• Is there alternative seating in the classroom where students can work? “Would it help to sit on the floor or stand in the back of the room and work?”
• Can students listen to music while working? “Would I see a difference in you working independently if you had music playing and a set of headphones?”
• Are they a huge relationship kid? While they’re working, stop by their desk and initiate a game of tic-tac-toe with them.

Options provide students a pivotal sense of control, even if it’s just the perception of control. Everyone likes a little choice when tasks are demanding. Providing choice in the classroom might include the following examples:

• With extended writing and reading tasks that are daunting for many students, I like to offer “challenge versions.” I use a Taco Bell hot sauce system so students can choose “mild, medium or hot.” A mild version of a constructed response might be one paragraph, and the hot version might be a full five-paragraph response. A mild version of a reading might be given at the grade level while the hot version a grade level or two above. This system not only differentiates for multi-level abilities, but it also gives students choice while still maintaining the grade-level learning targets.
• Gifting students with being able to skip a question or section. “I have a present for you: You can skip any two questions that you want.”

Accommodating them with these strategies can feel like we’re lowering expectations for students, but when there is a student who refuses to initiate or maintain work, there’s so much value in meeting that kid where they are, building trust and risk-taking in the classroom, and then growing them as much as possible in the time they’re with you.

Oftentimes these strategies give just enough buy-in from a student to spark task initiation and self-determination. In the short term, they’re mastering learning targets. In the long term, they’re embracing struggle, normalizing asking for help and combating self-doubt – challenges we’re all still working through!

The old adage of flies and honey rings true, particularly with the middle school population, and teachers are simply magic makers when it comes to meeting the needs of every child in their classrooms.

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