CHICAGO—A frustrated group of students at Dunne High School on Chicago’s South Side told reporters Thursday that they are running out of ideas to motivate their underperforming teachers, who they claim have apparently given up on education despite the pupils’ concerted efforts. “We’ve tried everything to reach out to our teachers in hopes of making a connection, but it’s just so hard to get through to them,” said 10th-grader Christopher Fenton, who confirmed that most of his instructors live in low-income households and lack the basic language skills to communicate effectively. “It’s difficult to walk in the classroom each morning and see them sitting listlessly at their desks, convinced that nothing they do at school matters. And, unfortunately, it creates a vicious cycle: They think they’re going nowhere, and so that’s how they behave.” While Fenton stated that the school’s inadequate facilities and out-of-date teaching materials were partly to blame for educators’ dismal performance, he also acknowledged the problem has been exacerbated by the perceptible substance abuse issues that afflict many of his teachers, a number of whom have already developed lifelong dependencies on drugs and alcohol.