A large number of children are for the most part neglected by their teachers. These students dread being asked questions, hate praise, and do everything they can to evade attention. They camouflage their true character at school with evasion and retreat. Teachers, on the other hand, give the bulk of their time and attention to a handful of charismatic or demanding children, while large numbers of diffident and undemanding pupils pas through their hands unnoticed.
A study by a British teacher found in a fortnight of 70 lessons, the most active pupil had 123 contacts of some sort with the teacher and the least active pupil has just seven. The most likely to be neglected by teachers are girls. In the same study, the 12 boys in the class achieved 626 contacts and the 16 girls achieved only 489, an average of 52 contacts and 31 contacts respectively.