Nicole and Struggling Student

           While observing recently, my attention was drawn to a student who was clearly struggling with her assignments. She has a very hard time reading, and often requires one-on-one instruction, or alternate assignments. She is not classified as a special education student, nor does she have a 504 classification. When I asked my cooperating teacher about this particular student and inquired as to why she does not have an aide, the teacher told me that she had been trying for months to get extra help and extra resources for this student.  My cooperating teacher stated that she has been to countless child study team (CST) meetings.   In addition, there have been numerous phone calls and e-mails back and forth with the student’s parents. It was  my cooperating teacher’s understanding that the parents felt as though their child was completely fine and that she was “keeping up with the rest of the class.”  In fact, the parents had problems with the idea of having the teacher give the student an alternate homework assignment, even though it was clear she could not work on the same assignments as the rest of the class.

I can understand why  parents would want their child to feel as though he/she were at the same level as the rest of the students, but why wouldn’t they also want to try and help their child as much as they can?   Parents have the right and the opportunity to fight for their child so that a child who is struggling can get extra help and extra resources in class. Apparently these parents are choosing to fight with the teacher and the school instead.

My question to everyone is this, what do you think the teacher can do to get the parents on her side? All the teacher wants is for the student to be able to get the necessary extra help in order to do well in class, to really learn and to gain confidence.   My cooperating teacher feels as if she always has to defend herself and her teaching style.    Over the past year as you have been observing, have you noted a problem similar to this one?   That is, have you experienced parents who are reluctant to have their child classified?  Parents who are reluctant to give their child extra help?    What did your cooperating teacher do in that particular situation?  How did the CST handle these  parents?   And finally, how would you handle these parents?   

Diana wishes to assess a particular reading approach

The teacher that I am observing pairs up her students in order to have them read aloud to one another.    She matches stronger readers with weaker readers and then she has them sit next to one another and take turns "whisper read” to each other. I honestly don't know how I feel about this particular reading strategy.   My first reaction is that stronger readers will just read and get it out of the way, while the less advanced students will read softer so that their mistakes will not get noticed. A part of me feels as if this is more busy work and does not actually help the students become better readers.   While I am in the classroom, I notice that unless I am attentive to each of the pairs all the time,  the students do not read.    Rather than read, they talk to one another.  Some finish faster than other pairs and then they talk.   I want to know if you have ever observed this approach to reading and how successful do you think it is?    Am I wrong for thinking that it isn't really helping?    I am anxious to learn how to teach my students to become competent readers and I could use more input that will help me to assess this particular approach.   What do you remember from our ED 340 class?    I look forward to having you share your thoughts with me.     Thanks.  

Amanda seeks advice about a severe behavioral problem

I am observing a second grade class that has a total of twenty-one students. Out of the twenty-one students there is only one child who seems to have behavioral problems. In my first day of  observing my cooperating teacher warned me about this student and told me to keep an extra eye one him. For the past week, this student has been nothing but trouble. He punched a student in the face because “by accident” one of the students stepped on his fingers during circle time. Another incident occurred when he hit a girl in the forehead with a ball during recess. He was sent to the principal’s office and the principal then required that the parents come in for a conference.  It would appear that this child is taught at home that “if anyone bothers him or hurts his feelings he has the right to hit them in self-defense.”

 It seems to me that sending him to the principal’s office all the time isn’t working since he continues to misbehave. At this point, when the students are working together, he has to be excluded because he doesn’t know how to work nicely with his classmates. What do you think is the best thing for the teacher to do at this point?  Do you think that this problem  will be become worse when he gets older? At the same time, do you think his parents have an impact on this behavioral problems? Has anyone else experienced a similar situation?   If so, how did your school district handle this issue?  I look forward to hearing your responses.

Meghan has questions about ELL programs

I am observing two fourth-grade teachers.  In each of these classess there are students have who  just arrived in the United States.   They arrive only   a few weeks ago. Since they do not yet know English, it is difficult for the teachers to communicate and provide help to these students.  The students do communicate with one boy in the classroom who speaks Spanish with them.  What concerns me is that even the ESL teacher  is struggling to communicate with these new students.  This is because, as my cooperating teacher told me, this particular ESL teacher,  at the time of her  certification, was not required to learn a foreign language. This  ESL teacher has only completed minimal coursework in Spanish.  I am seeing that sometimes even a specialist struggles to provide the right services to students.  Now the school is waiting for more support from the state and more teachers with advanced Spanish knowledge.  It is frustrating to me as a budding  educator to realize that  students have to wait for more support.   Also, I am noting that it is very difficult for these particular students to participate in all of the school activities right now. 

One of my cooperating teachers said that it could take up to seven years before these students academically understand the language. Don’t you think that is too long for these children to be struggling? What are your suggestions for the meantime? Some strategies I have learned about are picture dictionaries and differentiated cubes such as those found on the following website: http://teachhighschoolmath.blogspot.com/2009/12/cube-differentiated-instruction-lesson.html .   I suggest these because I believe that these teaching aids can help to promote  simple conversation questions.

What is your opinion about the fact that the ESL teacher in this school was not required to learn a foreign language? What are some strategies that you would suggest to help these recently arrived  students?  My cooperating teacher said, “The classroom is changing these days.”   Do you agree with her statement?   Are there many ELL students in the classes in which you are doing your observations?    Have you or any of your family members ever been part of an ELL program?  Was it helpful?    Do you know another language?    Do you think it would be helpful to know another language fluently?    Which one?   Why?     I look forward to reading your comments