My humble opinion.

What was Jeff Bliss trying to say? In my humble view, I think Mr. Bliss is putting words to the feelings of millions of students whom are disenchanted with the educational process. He feels NO motivation to memorize worksheets and handouts. He feels patronized by the simplicity of what is being asked of him. DEEP down, Mr. Bliss truly does want to learn. He was able to express his feelings in a rather inappropriate way, but for the sake of argument is making a very strong case for getting rid of the Standardized testing\HenryFord-Mass-production-style of education that teachers are being forced to practice. In fairness to his teacher, I would imagine she has tried many times to draw students into a stimulating discussion about whatever her content was. But, as teachers know all to well. In order to have an intelligent discussion, you need people who have some background in the material. In order to have some background, you probably have to have had some homework completed BEFORE coming to class. Again, not something students that are in Jeff's situation are prone to do or even attempt. It is easy to pass judgement on a teacher's methods. It is much more difficult to come up with something that actually works. She is being told that X number of students must be able to retain X number of facts in order to pass a standardized test. What Jeff is talking about is going to take time and lots of energy. Much more time than the State of Texas is going to give her and certainly not the encouragement to make the changes necessary for deep learning to occur. Again, in my humble opinion, Mr Bliss is emotionally reacting, and that is probably how he deals with most of his decisions. People at risk rely heavily on 'their gut' feelings. In order to reach Jeff, we must "touch his heart". Build a rapport that is based on trust. Build a relationship that speaks to his 'gut' or 'heart'. Words on a sheet of paper will talk to his Prefontal Cortex but not his Amygdala. Building a curriculum around reaching the emotional centers of the brain in a classroom setting, has no basis in education. In education, we must be able to show quantifiable results. If you can't measure it, its NOT important, it does not belong in a curriculum. I'm not saying its correct. In fact, I would argue that this is one of the key missing features of educational classrooms. Our ability to tap into the emotional brain of a student is not something we know how to do on a one-to-one basis, let along in a classroom setting. Almost sounds like cognitive therapy. The question begging to be asked is, 'Can we reach students like Jeff in a classroom setting, while pulling them through a curriculum that offers no hope or path for them?' Why would they trust someone who is making them remember things that have no meaning to them? They can not see the benefit these facts and figures will ever bring them. Why would they listen to someone they don't trust? At-risk students become at-risk by experiencing a lifetime of unstable and dysfunctional relationships. How could he begin to memorize things that are presented to his cognitive brain, while his emotional brain is trying to settle on "WHAT IS HAPPENING TO MY LIFE, WHY AM I LEARNING THIS, WHAT IF I FAIL?"