What is an “AT RISK” student?

Hey, what’s up? My name is Seth from SethPerler.com.

I am an executive function coach in Boulder, Colorado. I help struggling students figure out how to navigate this thing called school.

I received this letter from a high school instructional technology coach, and it says:

“Seth, thank you for your support. I joined and signed up for your website in hopes of finding ideas for helping at-risk students. Almost 25% of our students in our freshman class are at-risk, unintentional learners, and unmotivated.“

Wow.

Parents, teachers, and anyone watching this—we have got to step it up a million notches. This is not okay.

First, let’s talk about what “at-risk” means.

The writer says that 25% of the freshmen are at risk.

Twenty-five percent.

One in four students.

In a classroom of 20 students—which rarely happens in high school anymore—that would mean five students are at risk.

In a school of 2,500 students, hundreds are at risk.

And that’s only the students who are being counted. There may be many more.

So what does “at-risk” actually mean?

The way I describe the purpose of education is this:

When students finish their educational experience—whether that’s high school, college, gap years, or whatever path they take—they should have the skills, tools, and knowledge necessary to launch a great future.

I use the word launch a lot.

So what are these students at risk of?

They’re at risk of not being able to launch a happy and successful future.

They’re at risk of not developing the skills and abilities they need to create the life they want.

The students I work with all struggle in school. As an executive function coach, most of them would probably be considered at-risk.

My job is to minimize, reduce, or remove that risk.

That’s what I’m trying to do.

I’m trying to help them launch a great future.

If you’re a parent, teacher, or professional working with struggling students, that’s what you’re trying to do as well.

You’re helping someone who is at risk of not reaching their potential.

So thank you for this email.

It’s valuable to hear directly from people who are out there in the trenches dealing with these realities every day.

Now, there are two other things in your email that I want to talk about.

You mentioned that students are unintentional learners and unmotivated.

Let’s start with intentional learning.

I have this concept called the Intentional Learner.

It’s actually an idea I’ve thought about turning into a book.

When I think about what I’m really trying to accomplish with students, I don’t talk about it much on my blog, but this is it:

I’m trying to help students become intentional learners.

If you can move through your educational experience with awareness, purpose, and intention—if you can be mindful, reflective, and conscious of how you’re learning—then you gain greater freedom and choice in your life.

You gain more control over your future.

But if you’re moving through education unconsciously, mindlessly, without self-awareness, without reflection, and without understanding yourself as a learner, then you’re missing one of the most important ingredients for building a happy and successful life.

Intentionality matters.

Being intentional means you’re not just going through the motions.

You’re not operating on autopilot.

You’re actively thinking about:

• What you want to do with your life

• The kind of person you want to become

• How you want to treat other people

• The relationships you want to build

• The contributions you want to make to the world

Intentionality is incredibly important.

So thank you for using that phrase, because I think it’s powerful.

Now let’s talk about motivation.

You mentioned that many students are unmotivated.

And honestly, I agree.

However, I don’t spend my time trying to motivate students.

You can take a different approach if you’d like, but that’s not how I work.

I don’t sit down with students and tell them they need to be more motivated.

I don’t try to inspire motivation directly.

Why?

Because, in my experience, it’s not a winning game.

Telling students they should be more motivated doesn’t usually create action.

Instead, I focus on what’s underneath the lack of motivation.

Think of an iceberg.

The part above the water is what we see.

But 80% or 90% of the iceberg exists beneath the surface.

The same thing is true for students.

What we see on the surface is:

• Procrastination

• Avoidance

• Missing assignments

• Lack of effort

• Resistance

But underneath the surface, there’s often something much bigger happening.

What I’m trying to figure out is what’s going on below the waterline.

Usually, I find emotional overwhelm.

Students are stressed.

They’re discouraged.

They’re anxious.

They’re ashamed.

They’re frustrated.

They’re exhausted.

Until we address those underlying issues, it’s very difficult to create meaningful action.

So instead of asking:

“How do I motivate this student?”

I ask:

“How do I help this student take action even when they don’t feel motivated?”

That’s a very different question.

I often tell students:

“I know you don’t want to do it.”

“That’s okay.”

“If I were in your position, I might not want to do it either.”

“But how do we do it anyway?”

How do we move forward despite the resistance?

How do we act in our own best interests, even when we don’t feel like it?

That’s really what my work is about.

My entire coaching practice is built around helping students do what they need to do for their future well-being, even when they’re resistant to doing it.

To accomplish that, we have to understand what’s happening beneath the surface.

And unfortunately, that’s something we often fail to explore deeply enough in education.

Anyway, I just wanted to unpack that idea a little bit.

Again, my name is Seth Perler from SethPerler.com.

I’m an executive function coach in Boulder, Colorado, helping struggling students turn things around so they can create great futures.

If you haven’t signed up for my website, I have a ton of free resources available.

I also send free updates and provide a free mini-course when you subscribe.

Check out the site.

There are lots of tools and resources there for you.

Hang in there.

Don’t give up.

Keep moving forward, step by step by step, helping your kids turn things around and build great futures.

Take care.