If You Start Treating Your Most Challenging Students as If They Are Your Favorite Students, Over Time They Might Start Acting Like Your Favorites.

There is an element of the “self-fulfilling prophecy” that plays out in teacher-student relationships. When a teacher is aggravated with a student, he/she is a little more irritable with the student, a little less patient, and a little less gracious. On the flip side, teachers are extraordinarily patient and flexible with their favorite students. When teachers begin extending those same courtesies to the challenging students, they often notice that those students respond positively. The student who seemingly always gets on the teacher's last nerve may actually have a lot of potential. When teachers look for good qualities, they can surprise themselves with how many they find.