Sometimes, teachers have to draw the line. From February to June 2005, my high intermediate ESOL class included a man in his early 20s who was the most challenging and disruptive student I have seen in my 13 years of teaching. "John" was bright, a good writer, and had very strong oral English skills. Despite my repeated attempts to work with him before or after class, he was often uncooperative, especially in pair or small group work. His classroom behavior included numerous side conversations in his first language with whoever was sitting next to him. This was annoying while I, or more important, a classmate, was trying to speak.

I gave the class a week to complete one of the most important writing assignments of the cycle. On the due date and the following day, John was absent and didn't call to let us know he wouldn't be in (a program requirement). When John returned to class and I asked him for the assignment, he just gave me a shrug of the shoulders and a smirk. I told him to step out into the hallway. "If you don't bring your homework tomorrow," I told him, "don't come back." The next day, John returned with his homework and for the rest of the cycle he was, for the most part, more cooperative, mature, and responsible. In September, he was among 9 of the 11 students in the class to enroll in a community college.

Because of John and a few similar situations with other students, program staff developed a set of criteria by which students in all four intermediate classes would be evaluated for class participation, behavior, homework, speaking English in class, punctuality, and attendance. Evaluations occur during the first two to three weeks of each cycle, at midcycle and at the end of the cycle. Students with poor evaluations meet with the counselor and are required to improve problem areas or risk being dropped from the program. Like most other ABE/ ESOL programs, we have a waiting list of qualified, motivated people. No one has been asked to leave the program since the evaluations have been put in place.

Richard Goldberg is the director of education for the Asian American Civic Association in Boston. He can be reached at: Richard@aaca-boston.org