---
title: The Biggest Lie Students Tell Me (and How to Turn It Around) -
description: www.edutopia.org/blog/students-biggest-lie-resolving-it-jose-vilson This blog post explains how one teacher responds to students who say, “I can’t.” He shares insights about why students may be resistant to making effort on learning tasks as well as strategies for engaging them, helping them believe in their own capacity, and pressing them to persist in the face of challenge to meet high expectations.
---

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# The Biggest Lie Students Tell Me (and How to Turn It Around)

**By [Ben Politzer](https://www.tripoded.com/blog/author/ben-politzer)**  
April 25 2019

[**www.edutopia.org/blog/students-biggest-lie-resolving-it-jose-vilson**](https://www.edutopia.org/blog/students-biggest-lie-resolving-it-jose-vilson)

This blog post explains how one teacher responds to students who say, “I can\’t.” He shares insights about why students may be resistant to making effort on learning tasks as well as strategies for engaging them, helping them believe in their own capacity, and pressing them to persist in the face of challenge to meet high expectations.

![Ben Politzer](https://www.tripoded.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Headshot%20Ben%20Tight%20-%20small.jpg?width=170&height=170&name=Headshot%20Ben%20Tight%20-%20small.jpg)

Written by

## Ben Politzer

 Ben is Vice President K-12 Lead Gen at Scholarus Learning, and is interested in connecting people to the right supports. He is a former teacher and school principal. He loves new ideas, new ways of looking at problems, and is forever learning how to be a better dad, leader, and marketer. 

[View profile ](https://www.tripoded.com/blog/author/ben-politzer)

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