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ACHPER NSW - Professional association for health, physical education and recreation professionals Strategies for Reaching Apathetic Students | Edutopia Alex Shevrin , Teacher/leader & techie at independent, alternative, therapeutic high school Posted 03/03/2015 7:58AM | Last Commented 03/24/2015 7:07PM “I don’t care.” Those three words can cause the most experienced of teachers to grow frustrated: how do we reach students who give off the vibe that nothing matters? Is it really apathy? If your student has his head down, is nonresponsive, or won’t complete schoolwork, apathy is only one of many possibilities. Is the student having a hard time at home? Often, what looks like a lack of motivation can be a way to hide the underlying story. Is the behavior localized to your class or across the board? Touch base with the student’s other teachers. What’s the big picture, and can the student connect it to the daily details? It’s difficult to stay motivated when we can’t see the connection between what’s in front of us and what we want out of life. When we know what students are working toward, we can help contextualize the daily work for them.