When students tell you they can’t do something, what are they really saying? What’s behind the expression of defeat? John Mark suggests three possibilities and how to respond:

The student may be expressing a belief about people in general: “Some people can, I cannot.”

* The student may be dealing with a unhealthy reliance on the teacher.

* The student may be expressing a fear of failure: “I can’t do this to the standard I hold for myself.”

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