Mrs. Bees Reads About Shut-Down Learners

About two weeks ago, I went to the public library looking for books that might help answer some of the “teacher existential angst” questions bouncing around in my head. (That, and a paranormal romance that was just too embarrassing to actually purchase.) One of the books that caught my eye was a slim volume called The Shut-Down Learner: Helping Your Academically Discouraged Child, by Richard Selznick.

I took it home in the hope that it might provide some insight – and tools – for me as I try to connect with some of my more discouraged (and discouraging) students. Sure enough, the shut-down learners (SDLs) that Selznick describes are frequent inhabitants of my classroom. I have to return the book this afternoon, but I found it helpful enough that I wanted to talk about it here in case it might come in useful to my blog-friends as well. If this sounds like some of your students (or your children) please go check out or purchase Selznick’s book. I think you’ll find it worth your time.

Identifying Shut-Down Learners in Your Classroom

Male SDLs in your classroom will likely be easier to identify.  They’ll be the kid who tries to hide, who slouches, avoids eye contact, and will do anything to keep from being called on. They act up in class, decline to do their work, and end up with single-digit grades in your class. They’ve often been labeled as ADHD. More male students than female tend to be SDLs.

Female SDLs are tougher to identify. They often exhibit “teacher-pleaser” traits: pleasant, friendly, helpful, vivacious. They’ll probably end up with higher grades than their male counterparts because they appear to be “trying.” They’ll often work overtime to fit in or seem more like the popular girls.

SDLs seem unmotivated to learn and become disconnected from the classroom activities. They exhibit extreme dislike for reading and writing, and seem to gain nothing positive (intrinsically or extrinsively) from their school experience. This often manifests as anger toward the school system.

These students are often diagnosed (wrongly, or incompletely) as ADHD.

What’s the Real Problem?

Selznick calls SDLs, especially the boys, “Lego kids.” They tend to have excellent visual-spatial intelligence, and will spend hours doing complicated kinesthetic tasks. They score very highly on tests where they have to discern graphic patterns. Because these skills are emphasized in the earliest grades, SDLs may be initially identified as gifted.

The underlying problem for SDLs is very low linguistic-verbal intelligence. They have severely underdeveloped vocabularies, and significant deficiencies in reading fluency and/or comprehension.

After the first year or two of school, opportunities for these students to shine with their visual-spatial skills decrease while demands on their linguistic-verbal skills increase. They can’t keep up, and then they can’t catch up. Suddenly, the gifted kindergartner is the below-average third-grader, diagnosed with ADHD by a rushed doctor, but medication can’t make up for fundamental holes in language acquisition.

By high school, you have a student who is completely overwhelmed, desperately behind, and (sometimes irrevocably) shut-down. They feel stupid and unable to do the things that seem so simple to other students, so in an attempt to shield themselves from these feelings, they either disconnect entirely or attempt to camouflage their deficiencies through excellence in sports and socialization.

What’s the Answer?

Parents and teachers look at a SDL and tend to believe that the problem is a lack of motivation. No amount of motivation, however, can overcome the fact that the student simply lacks ability. (Selznick has a terrific metaphor for this, wherein he compares SDL learners to runners with heel spurs.) When efforts to motivate the student inevitably fail, the adults in their lives get frustrated and angry. Negative reinforcement exacerbates the problem as the student feels punished for something they can’t control. Understanding that a student truly can’t rather than won’t is a key thing that parents and teachers can do to help these students.

The curriculum is another major obstacle for these students, and Selznick suggests something potentially radical (but, to my mind, pretty intriguing). Selznick suggests that SDL students will not thrive under the regular curriculum, because their language acquisition is so impaired. He recommends a more remedial curriculum for part of these students’ education – instruction that will help them overcome the worst of their deficiencies so that they can achieve their adult goals and have confidence.

The other part of their curriculum should have a heavier focus on those areas in which SDL students can excel and have confidence – classes that utilize their visual-spatial and kinesthetic intelligences.

That translates to something akin to vocational/vo-tech education, which I imagine could raise some eyebrows amongst some educators. I’m of the opinion, though, that we’re doing our country and its youngest citizens a stark disservice by minimizing vocational and practical education. Not all students will be college graduates, and if we don’t have people who are expert welders, electricians, mechanics, plumbers, and carpenters (not to mention hairstylists!) what will happen to our world?

Selznick’s recommendation isn’t trying to compartmentalize SDL learners or say that they can’t achieve a “white-collar” future. The fact is, he shows, that many SDLs are happier in jobs where they can work with their hands. They have confidence and success, and tend to excel, because this is where their natural gifts lie. (Re-reading this, I feel uncomfortable, as if I’ve written something racist, bigoted. I need to dig into that reaction a little bit – I guess I’m more conflicted on this subject than I thought! Looking forward to readers’ thoughts.)

Minor tangent: We’ve created an artificial hierarchy, I think, of “good jobs” and “bad jobs” based on whether you wear earplugs and a toolbelt or a suit and tie. I would argue (and I’d bet Selznick would agree) that there aren’t bad jobs, just jobs that are bad for certain people, and that a vocation that brings you satisfaction and lets you make a living is good regardless of the uniform.

Anyway…. You can get an autographed copy of The Shut-Down Learner for $11.95 through the book’s website, or you can find it for the same price through Amazon (with used copies as low as $3.58). You can even preview the book for free by requesting the first chapter here, or look for it at your local library.

Disclaimer: I’m not affiliated with Selznick or the book publishers in any way, and am not getting compensated in any way for this post – just wanted to share a good find with other teachers.