Growing up in a rural area which was of a lower socioeconomic status I saw “learned helplessness” frequently. I saw many students who would just attribute their lack of success in a class as due to things such as luck, or the “teacher not liking them”. A few kids would say “I am just going to be a farmer anyways, why do I need math?”
I remember one kid in particular, let’s call him Joe. Joe always came to class in dirty clothing. Joe often acted out for attention and was the “bad boy”. Joe would frequently be verbally aggressive with the teachers, and tell them how he didn’t need to learn, wouldn’t learn it anyways, didn’t know why he was there, etc. Joe is often the kiddo I think about when I think of learned helplessness. I often wonder how he turned out and if his life would have been different with a little attention from caregivers.
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