Diversity

History

Yolanda was a ninth grade student at Kennedy-King High School. Spanish was her primary language, although she had limited English skills in reading and writing. She had recently moved from Mexico to Mississippi and didn’t have any friends at her new school. The classroom was rather large, with about twenty-eight students. She was quiet  and sat in the very back of the classroom because she was shy and didn’t know anyone. When asked to pair up and do cooperative learning, everyone would pair up with their friends while Yolanda would ease down in her seat, feeling rejected and unwanted. Many times when she didn’t pair up in groups, her teacher didn’t even notice. By her mid-term evaluation, she was failing her class.

Problem

• Spanish is her primary language
• Don’t have friends.
• The classroom is large.
• She is quiet and tends to get lost in the crowd.
• She sits in the very back of the classroom.
• Her grades are failing

Approach with the Problem

As teacher, I will always pair her with someone when working in groups.  I will never allow the students to pick their own groups.  I would not let her sit in the back, she would sit close to me, therefore,  I can always keep a close watch on her.  I also talk to her parents about finding her a tutor, because this child needs all the help she can get.  When I first began taking Spanish classes I used a recorder to help, therefore, I would recommend that she use a tape recorder everyday to record the lessons. 

Reteaching

History

            Mrs. Davis is teaching a lesson to her sixth grade class. She shows her class a diagram of the various parts of the human eye which included the lens, cornea, and retina. She then explains that people can see objects because light from the sun or some other source bounces off those objects and into the eye. To illustrate this concept, she shows her students a picture of a sun, house, and a boy. An arrow is drawn from the sun, to the house, and from the house to the boy’s eyes. She then asks, “Do you all understand how our eyes work?” Some of the students nod their heads. The next day, Mrs. Davis gives her students a picture of the sun, a tree, and a boy. She asks them to draw an arrow to represent how light travels so that the boy can see the tree. Over half of the students draw the arrow from the boy to the tree.

Problem

• The students did not fully understand the lesson. 
• The teacher did not completely explain the lesson.
• The teacher needs to reteach the lesson.

Approach with the Problem

            First I would have asked each child to briefly describe to me the process of  the human eye.  I would have never asked my students did they understand because even if they did not understand, they would have lied.  By asking them to briefly describe the process, would show me exactly how much the student understand.  If the students did not understand, I would to reteach.  I would reteach the entire lesson but focus mainly on the part in which the student are off focus the most. 

Behavior Management

History

            Timothy seems to cause problems wherever he goes. In the classroom he is rude d defiant. He comes to class late, slouches in his seat, puts his feet on his desk, yells at his classmates and his teacher, and refuses to participate in class activities. Timothy shoves and pushes his peers in the halls, steals lunches from smaller boys in the cafeteria, and gets into fights every week.

            No one at school likes Timothy very much. His classmates say he is a bully, and his parents tell him he is a “bad apple” who is rotten to the core. Even his teacher says negative things about him and is beginning to give up all hope for him. Timothy is waiting for the day he can legally drop out of school.

Problem

• Causes problems everywhere
• Rude
• Always late for class
• Does not sit properly in desk
• Put feet on desk
• Yells
• Will not participate in class
• Bully
• Steals
• Everyone is negative towards him

Approach with problem

Timothy seems to be a very difficult child to get along with.  I honestly believe that it is because of the thing that people say to him.  If you are constantly telling a child he or she is bad eventually being bad is something he or she will always do.  I think this is why he is acting out, it is his way of getting attention.  To fix his behavior, I would never let him out of my sight.  He will constantly be up in my face.  I also try not to give up on him, I would not discourage like others.  Most definetly I will not call him bad.  I would be the teacher that shows him that I truly care about him.  If I show that I care, he may try to act better in class.  I would reward him for the smallest things, for example, for just sitting in his seat quietly, for a few minutes.