Teacher Permitted Drained Student To Nap During Class

Jul 11, 2022 by apost team

Teachers don’t have it easy. While it might be one of the most rewarding jobs out there, working long hours with little pay can take a toll on your motivation. In some cases, they even take their frustration out on the students or let it affect their jobs.

Monte Syrie, a self-proclaimed change-chaser, has been a teacher for 21 years, 14 of which he spent as an English teacher at Cheney High School in Cheney, Washington. He started a project called Let’s Change Education, or Project 180, that encourages teachers to reflect and do better for their students. 

In a series of tweets that have gone wildly viral, Syrie proved himself to be a perfect example of just how teachers can improve (or at least understand) their students' lives. Some, however, take the opposite route. Syrie is one of those teachers. He began by tweeting that one of his students fell asleep in class, something that normal teachers would be upset about, and maybe even punish their students for. Syrie, however, took the opposite route. He let her sleep. 

He discussed how, although sleeping in class is not generally an acceptable behavior, maybe generalizing is actually hurting the students. Maybe teachers should be focused on the needs of the individual student, even if that means going against the grain sometimes. Students are kids. They don’t exist only within the walls of a classroom. They have other duties and responsibilities, and oftentimes even struggles of their own. And sometimes, they just need a break. Take a look at how one teacher handled this situation. 

After one of Syrie's students dozed off during his class, he did something that most teachers wouldn't do. Instead of waking his sleeping student Meg, he let her sleep. After allowing her to sleep, he posted about the situation on Twitter. In a series of tweets, the teacher wrote: "Meg fell asleep in class yesterday. I let her. I didn't take it personally. She has zero-hour math, farm-girl chores, state-qualifying 4X400 fatigue, adolescent angst, and various other things to deal with. My class is only a part of her life, not her life. No, she did not use," the first tweet wrote.

In his second tweet, he went on to say: "her time wisely in class yesterday. She didn't get her essay turned in. She knew that. I knew that, but I didn't beat her up about it. Didn't have to. She emailed it to me last night at 9:00 PM. On her own." 

Syrie said that while he knew letting his student sleep wasn't the proper thing to do, he said sometimes you have to follow your better judgment and just be human.

He continued: "I get it, and I'm not suggesting that we make it a permanent part of repertoire/routine, but I am suggesting that we sometimes trust our instincts, even if it goes against the grain, maybe especially if it goes against the grain, for I am not always convinced the grain best considers kids. In a different room, Meg may have been written up for sleeping in class and given a zero for a missing essay, but she wasn't in a different room; she was in my room. My room," he finished writing. 

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What do you think of Monte Syrie’s approach? Do you appreciate it when a teacher gives you or your kids a break? Do you think we need more teachers like Syrie in the world? Let us know, then pass this on so others can read it too.