Hi.
I was wondering if any of you had any tips about this scenario. I teach young kids and I enjoy it as much as they do. I have one problem though, one of my kids’ attention span is very short. He is one the best in his class when his mind is on the job, but he slips far too easily into space if you know what I mean.
Any ideas? It is not just me saying this by the way, the Chinese teachers also say the same.
Thanks a lot… as usual…
It may be genetic. Daughter #1 wanders around in a cloud and wouldn’t notice if her hair was on fire. Daughter #2 is able to focus on a puzzle, book or whatever for hours. We think they have the same parents…
It depends on the activity.
If it’s during lecture time or a Q&A session, make it a point to frequently “check in” with that student. Walk over to the student, put your hand on their desk, look directly at him/her, etc. You don’t have to interrupt your instruction, keep teaching the whole class while you do this.
If it’s during small group activities, pair him/her up with a brighter, responsible kid who that student won’t find threatening and ask that kid to help keep your little miss ADD involved.
During individual work, tell the potential space cadet to finish a shorter portion of the work and then report to you. Then you give another chunk of work to do. (e.g. write vocabulary words 1-5 and show you. Then 6-10. If it’s really bad write 1 or 2 words and definitions and then show you.)
Hope that helps.
Thanks puiwaihin… that’s very useful. I’ll give it a go later today.
Re: pjdrib… I thought it could be a genetic thing, his mother is a relatively high ranking civil servant (not sure about dad)…very busy, strict etc… I have heard on more than one occasion that his mother also complains about this.
Anyway… cheers for your time
I meant that the short attention span may be hard-wired an no matter what technique you try they may wander. It also might have something to do with the fact that most kids here are force fed lollies/candies/sweets all day and don’t have enough protein for breakfast.
What’s this thread about again???
[quote=“pjdrib”][quote=“Funk500”]
Re: pjdrib… I thought it could be a genetic thing, his mother is a relatively high ranking civil servant (not sure about dad)…very busy, strict etc… I have heard on more than one occasion that his mother also complains about this.
[/quote]
I meant that the short attention span may be hard-wired an no matter what technique you try they may wander. It also might have something to do with the fact that most kids here are force fed lollies/candies/sweets all day and don’t have enough protein for breakfast.[/quote]
I agree that sometimes these things are probably genetic. Sometimes they could be food related. Sometimes (and probably more often) bad parenting. Sometimes it is a very smart kid whose mind has already moved on.
Whichever, to say “Oh Johnny has this problem and there’s nothing we can do about it is just a cop out.”
Imagine if we said that about violent people!!!
I know he bashes people to death frequently, but then so did his dad. 
First: You have identified your problem. Good on you.
Two: You are not excusing it but looking for solutions. Good on you.
Three: PWH gave an excellent suggestion. Understand it and work with it. Good on you.
The kid has a short attention span for whatever reason. Give him/her short activities to focus on.
I have some kids who won’t look at their books for more than a minute. I keep good eye contact with them and often will teach from behind their desk, pointing at where we are in the book. They don’t seem to mind this. I always follow up with praise or a pat on the back, etc., to let them know I am happy with them. They naturally try harder.
knowing that you have this kid in your class, break up activities. Get the students up and moving around more often.
Work with it and you will have a much better class.
Fight it or ignore it and class will be trying.
Do a search on attention deficit disorder. It’s a lot of info but could help you.
Thanks again for your input much appreciated!
Since I started the thread, the kid in question has been away… so I’ve not had chance to use the advice you guys gave me yet.
I’ll definitely look up ADD more thoroughly too. right now all I have is passing knowledge.
Cheers!
…and then, try teaching every class as though you had this student in it. Shorter activities, lots of feedback and checking in. Even the non-ADD kids will greatly appreciate that you actually make it interesting, and their x hours a day of class will seem to go that much faster – who knows, maybe they’ll even look forward to it!
There is a difference between ADD kids and non-ADD kids. Some activities allow kids a level of independence which ADD kids don’t benefit from. Kids with ADD can’t concentrate on an activity for 5 minutes, while 5-15 minute activities are doable for regular kids.
So, if you treated all kids like your ADD ones it would be quite disruptive to your teaching. Ever try teaching English to 3-5 year olds?
But your point about keeping all activities moving and actively monitoring all kids for paying attention is absolutely correct. Hopefully he’s already doing that. With the ADD kid it takes it to the next level.
Some kids simply can’t pay attention. It isn’t a disease. It is being a kid. Some kids can pay attention. That is a blessing for many teachers here.
In my opinion, ADD is a misapplied diagnosis. It assumes that all kids ought to be able to pay more attention in the classroom when it ought to be clear to anyone that some kids are better cut out to chop down trees or drive taxis.
Or dig ditches or work on oil rigs, etc.
It’s the same old story.
[quote=“wipt”]Some kids simply can’t pay attention. It isn’t a disease. It is being a kid. Some kids can pay attention. That is a blessing for many teachers here.
In my opinion, ADD is a misapplied diagnosis. It assumes that all kids ought to be able to pay more attention in the classroom when it ought to be clear to anyone that some kids are better cut out to chop down trees or drive taxis.
Or dig ditches or work on oil rigs, etc.
It’s the same old story.[/quote]
There’s a difference between ADD kids and kids who simply don’t pay attention. ADD is fairly common in childhood, and it’s not just kids being bored or lazy.
Sure, teachers who have heard of it are quick to label kids who don’t pay attention as having ADD. Those unfamiliar with the problem seem quick to label kids “stupid”. Both are not a good thing to do. Often the problem is that the teacher is simply not interesting enough, or perhaps it’s the material. Improving the teaching or spicing up the material will work on kids who are just bored.
But there comes a point when the teacher is being interesting, the material is good, and a kid just can’t seem to focus. Everyone else is paying rapt attention but one genuinely good kid loses focus over and over again. In that case you have to look and see if the kid really does have a problem and if there’s anything you can do about it. (Sometimes you can talk with parents about diet changes, sometimes you just have to adapt to the kids needs in class.)
If, on the other hand, the kid is being forced to go to English class, doesn’t want to be there, and doesn’t have the natural aptitude to overcome this problem, then maybe a profession where English isn’t such an important thing is lying in his or her future. But I think that should be the individual kids call, not the teacher’s.
I was casually using the term ADD without knowing if the kid in quesiton had it, but it is a fairly common problem among young children. The lowest estimate you’ll find is 1 in 100. 1 in 20 is probably a good estimate, and if you want to count mild stuff you can seriously consider 1 in 5. Depends on what your criteria is.
There’s some good information at:
borntoexplore.org/whatisadd.htm
I don’t know if the kid the OP mentioned really is in that condition, but I do know writing a kid off as a future oil rig worker/taxi driver isn’t an option for me.
Yep.
Yep.
Yep.
[quote]But there comes a point when the teacher is being interesting, the material is good, and a kid just can’t seem to focus. Everyone else is paying rapt attention but one genuinely good kid loses focus over and over again. In that case you have to look and see if the kid really does have a problem and if there’s anything you can do about it. (Sometimes you can talk with parents about diet changes, sometimes you just have to adapt to the kids needs in class.)
[/quote]
This is the point when you have to realize that every class has a ‘best student’ and a ‘worst student’ and move on. Of course, there are exceptions.
Here is a good point. And it’s important for teachers to realize that children aren’t there by choice. Most of them are there because their
parents force them to go. Most kids you teach probably won’t need to
be fluent in English to be successful in life. They are interested more in the tests that await them in the immediate future.
The kids don’t decide much here. Schools cater to the parents. They’re the ones paying the bills.
[quote]There’s some good information at:
borntoexplore.org/whatisadd.htm[/quote]
Thanks for that. Any information is helpful.
So are you denying the importance of oil rig workers and taxi drivers? Those can be respectable professions. In fact, the taxi drivers here may surprise you with their varied backgrounds. 
[quote=“wipt”][quote]But there comes a point when the teacher is being interesting, the material is good, and a kid just can’t seem to focus. Everyone else is paying rapt attention but one genuinely good kid loses focus over and over again. In that case you have to look and see if the kid really does have a problem and if there’s anything you can do about it. (Sometimes you can talk with parents about diet changes, sometimes you just have to adapt to the kids needs in class.)
[/quote]This is the point when you have to realize that every class has a ‘best student’ and a ‘worst student’ and move on. Of course, there are exceptions.[/quote]
That all depends on why they are having trouble. If there is something you can do to address the problem, then address it. If a kid is paying attention and flat out doesn’t get it, then it’s the worst kid in the class. But ADD makes it so smart kids fail to learn when they are capable of it.
If there is a kid whose only problem is an attention problem-- not an attitude or aptitude problem-- then you should do what the OP is doing and try and find workable solutions. There is that point where you’ve done all you practically can (and all you’re being paid to do), but make sure you reach that point. (note: I’m saying ‘you’ in the general sense)
The kids don’t decide much here. Schools cater to the parents. They’re the ones paying the bills.[/quote]
I mean, it’s up to the kids what they make of themselves. If they choose not to put in the effort that’s their deal. If a teacher chooses not to put in the effort to adjust to the varying needs of the classroom then that kid is being let down.
I don’t mean it’s all on the teacher. With attitude there’s only so much you can do. Same thing with lack of ability. But if a teacher sees an attention problem they should work to deal with it as far as practical.
Not at all. But the reason a person works on an oil rig or drives a taxi shouldn’t be because they lack chances to work in another field due in part to a teacher’s lack of effort to work with them.
If a kid is going to fail in academics have it be because the kid isn’t interested or isn’t suited for it. Don’t let it be because teachers slacked off and didn’t try to help alleviate a problem that’s within their power to address.
Jesus, I would give my right arm to be an oil rig worker. Those guys earn $$$$$ and don’t pay tax if they’ve got half a brain. Otherwise PWH, spot on.
I agree. But what do you do with them? This isn’t a rhetorical question. I’ve got students who seem to have this problem and I don’t want to kick them out of my classes because I realize that they still learn. They just have their own way about it. I’ve been considering opening a special class for such kids–ones that are obviously very smart, but that learn in a different way.
Our school has been looking for a teacher like you for quite some time. I agree with this 100%.
I’ve been waiting for about two years for a teacher like you to show up for an interview. It hasn’t happened yet.
No wink. I mean everything I said.
I agree. But what do you do with them? This isn’t a rhetorical question. I’ve got students who seem to have this problem and I don’t want to kick them out of my classes because I realize that they still learn. They just have their own way about it. [/quote]
Personal attention helps, but isn’t always practical.
If the kid is old enough to want to help themselves you talk to the kid and explain you are going to try and help them by treating them differently. (That way they don’t feel you are picking on them.) Team them up with a kind, responsible, and competent partner (reward the partner for helping) who can assist in keeping the kids attention. Ask the CT (if there is one) to focus on that kid while you are teaching and you also make frequent eye contact and use physical presence to re-focus attention when it slips.
Most definitely talk to the parents so that they can help keep the kid’s concentration at home and perhaps change their diet and other things. Remind the parents that ADD is a condition that kids grow out of, but dealing with it now is important so the kid doesn’t fall behind.
You may need to lower your goals, or adjust assessment practices for such a kid. But don’t give up and don’t stop believing they can achieve or they may stop believing, too.
Sadly, that sort of general advice is all I have. I don’t claim to have had any serious success with kids with a problem like that, but I do believe my students feel I believe in them.
[quote]I’ve been considering opening a special class for such kids–ones that are obviously very smart, but that learn in a different way…
Our school has been looking for a teacher like you for quite some time. [/quote]
I see your plan. Lure a patient teacher to your school and give them a class full of ADD and at-risk students! Devious.
Seriously, though, a class like that could be good if there are enough at the same level. Fortunately, small class size will be a big advantage. Having a class of just 4 students or so would make handling it much easier.
I wish public shcools (in Tiawan or the US) had teachers like some of you!
Children who have short attention span, have difficulty focusing, often wander off into their inner world, or don’t interact with peers, might have ADD, autism spectrum disorder (many “autistc” kids do not have commonly-known type of autism) or pervasive development disorder (PDD, not otherwise specified.) Only a trained mental health professional can make the diagnosis.
It’s wonderful that some of those special-need children have a teacher like you!!