- Give brief and anonymous background information (female, junior, repeating course...).
- Share some specific problems he or she is having.
- What is his or her attitude about the math and learning in general?
- How did you become aware of these problems?
- What interventions have you attempted?
- What are the results?
- Reflect on your experience in helping someone struggling so much.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Reflection: Student with Special Needs
Write about your experience with a special needs student or at least about a student who struggled more than the others.
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I have one student who struggles quite a bit in my class. The class is made up entirely of seniors who lost credit last year except for this one girl. She is a junior who is trying to get ahead. (I think she is taking a math course so she won't have to next year or the year after.) She doesn't have as solid of a math background as some of the other students in the course, and I have come to realize over the past few weeks that one of her biggest challenges is performing operations with negative numbers. I became aware of this through assessments (both written and simply walking around). She sometimes even volunteers answers when we are working on a practice problem together, but makes these mistakes and then is embarrassed that she even spoke up. She is the type of student who wants to finish her work quickly, and this results in a lot of mistakes. Her attitude toward math is great, but she could definitely put more effort (and pride) into her work.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I have made sure to do is to remind her to use a calculator when she is working on a problem. I have really tried to stress to her (and the whole class) that when doing complex problems or problems with large numbers, it's good practice to use a calculator. If I see her working without her calculator I remind her to get it out. Once I even had to lend her my calculator because she had forgotten hers.
Also, when I am walking around assessing, I make sure to spend a few extra second to make sure she is not making these mistakes. Then, when we review problems together, I know that I can call on her to explain a step of the problem. Since I have already checked that she didn't make a computational error, I know that she won't be volunteering an incorrect answer. This has helped to curb the number of embarrassing moments for her. I also can tell that it is improving her confidence in math.
I've been happy to see her improvement over the past week and a half, but it's clear that she still has a long way to go. If I had more time with this class, I'd want to spend some extra time with her reviewing negative numbers. I feel that this is a basic mathematical concept that no one should leave high school without mastering.
I have a girl going into 10th grade who is taking Algebra 1 for credit recovery. She is quiet, shy, and struggles with the material. However, she is one of the hardest workers in my class.
ReplyDeleteMy C.T. had already set a policy against using calculators in class, which has its benefits and disadvantages. The first couple of days observing and assisting in class, I noticed that she struggled with operations with negative numbers and basic multiplication. She made herself a small handwritten multiplication table, which she uses in class and during tests. I spent a good deal of time with her one-on-one to help her with negative numbers, and she has progressively gotten better.
Like Tom posted, after I check her work, I call on her to answer a question that I know she can answer correctly. She is very happy when she gets something right, and that is so important for her, as she sometimes has a tendency to give up when she doesn't immediately understand something. I love to see her self-confidence improve, and I can't wait to see her face when she sees how well she did on Friday's test! Personally, this is the type of student I really like to attempt to reach. Both my classes are replete with intelligent kids; I haven't been able to motivate them to the degree I'd like. But the ones who struggle and finally get it... Those kids touch my heart, and it's made the past three weeks worthwhile.
There is one student in my class that doesn’t seem to have a learning disability, but seems to have some type of emotional issue. The student does engage in the class and seems to be mentally somewhere else 99 9/10 % of the time. This is a male student and appears to be very immature for his age. The first thought that I had is that this is a late maturing male. The only subject that seems to get his attention is a video game Nazi Zombies. The student’s attitude towards math and anything academic appears to be extreme apathy. I tried befriending the student and give him positive feedback such as keep trying your doing fine ect… This doesn’t seem to have any affect on the student. I created a do now that made reference to Nazi Zombies which appeared to wait him up for about five minutes. I just don’t know what will get through to this student. I believe that he should be put in a small learning community because without personal attention this student just mentally drifts into the abyss.
ReplyDeleteI have a sophomore girl who is taking Geometry for the first time this summer. I don’t think she has special needs, but she struggles in class. I became aware of her struggles during class when she raised her hand as I was circulating the room, and told me she was so confused about everything. Her quiz and test scores confirm that. Her attitude about math seems to be positive and she definitely tries, but I’ve since noticed that she rarely grasps a new concept the first time it’s presented. I frequently walk around the classroom while the students are working independently, and she always calls me over for clarification. I actually enjoy the one-on-one time I’m able to give her, and a couple of others, but they would take all of my time if I let them. The pace in our classroom is quick because about 2/3 of the kids are there for enrichment; about 1/3 are repeating. I suspect she would struggle less in a slower-paced classroom. My C.T. and I have sent her for tutoring a few times. The tutoring helps, but then as soon as new material is presented, she’s confused again. I have a bright student who seems to enjoy helping out students with questions, so he has helped her a couple of times.
ReplyDeleteWrite about your experience with a special needs student or at least about a student who struggled more than the others.
ReplyDelete•Give brief and anonymous background information (female, junior, repeating course...).
•Share some specific problems he or she is having.
•What is his or her attitude about the math and learning in general?
•How did you become aware of these problems?
•What interventions have you attempted?
•What are the results?
•Reflect on your experience in helping someone struggling so much.
I have a freshman repeating Algebra I who has a learning disability. From what I have seen he has both an attention deficit disorder and behavioral issues tied to having grown up in group homes.
Initially he was extremely disruptive in class mainly due to his excessive talking; however, he soon began to openly challenge my authority to the point where I had to speak with him outside the classroom.
He does not seem interested in math but has shown he is extremely intelligent and can do the work. I have seen him get the whole first page of a test right and then do only one or two of the remaining problems. It appears he can not stay focused for more than 10 minutes at a time.
I have tried to bring him into the fold by asking him questions and providing positive feedback. I believe he has made up his mind that I have become too "strict" and he would rather work with the Special Education teachers. I find this a little frustrating because I believe I can help him with Algebra and with his behavioral issues. Since the first week, he regularly goes with other teachers for the majority of the class period.
Effective class management is easier without him but as I said before, I feel we both have missed out on an opportunity to learn from each other. Overall, he has shown some improvement but has not yet proven he can sustain the gains he has made.
The first student that comes to mind for me (as I have several) is a sophomore male repeating the course. He has an IEP which allows him extra time on tests, etc, but unlike Bill's student, he does not want to leave the room to go with the special ed. teachers. I have allowed him extra time on projects and assessments but he usually chooses not to use all of it and passes in literally everything unfinished.
ReplyDeleteI have tried very hard to engage this student and there is no doubt his skills have improved, which makes both of us very happy. As I monitor, I always take the time to give him positive feedback on his work, to work one-on-one with him and to encourage he continue working instead of talking as the other students finish ahead of him. He simply can't stay focused for the time needed to complete anything, even though I know he is pleased that what he completed is correct. I also tried moving his seat nearer to the front and I have a stronger student paired with him for cooperative work.
I was talking to my c.t. about him and the fact that we really can't pass him with the limited amount of work he has submitted. He is well aware of his grade. Yet, he continues to show up and in fact, has not missed a day. Is it all about social time? This has really bothered me, as I wish there were more hours in the day to help this boy. I am frustrated with that.
I have a student who is a jr. who just completed Honors Geometry at her school, taking course for enrichment. This young lady struggles with very basic arithmetic, which has gotten in her way throughout this Algebra 2 course. At first I was impressed with the amount of extra effort she was willing to take on --- going to tutor, staying late for help. Since she is missing some instruction, she asks to go to the tutor for help with the hw, which seemed reasonable. I spoke with her mother and she said that test anxiety was a big factor in the poor performance, and both my CT and I have worked hard to help her with this. (Given her test taking strategies, helped her take better notes, let her take test in nearby empty room.) Her scores have not improved. This week I have had a type of epiphany --- it seems as if the extra effort is always just before a quiz or a test, and this student isn't putting in the effort every night to reinforce that day's new topic. As for helping with taking notes, apparently she isn't paying attention enough to get these notes herself. I spoke with the tutor to find out if she is seeing the same issue.. trouble with arithmetic that is getting in the way. The tutor wanted to speak with the CT about this very student -- she (tutor) does not want this student to be sent to her during the school day anymore. Her assessment matches my own (new) suspicion that going to the tutor has in effect become a crutch - in place of putting in the effort, and as a means to avoid new instruction. The tutor's conclusion is that even during tutoring sessions, that student is not paying 100% attention. I think we have been hoodwinked into doing alot of this work for/with the student, and have in effect enabled this student to duck her responsibility for the work. I think this has been a very successful strategy for this young lady throughout her education as she is a very well behaved student, and appears to seek extra resources with the best intentions. I now know how someone with such low skills could have passed an Honors course. I will speak with the CT to make sure that it's okay to limit the student from seeking the tutor during class time. Also, I will review her notebook after every new topic, and will collect the previous night's homework (in its entirety) to assess individual effort. For the bigger picture, I think an intervention (of sorts) is necessary to get all parties together from her school (teachers, tutors), including her parents, to talk about where her skills are, and why. This intervention is beyond my level, but I think this collaborative communication would bring to light this student's ability to elicit help in shirking her own responsibility. I have learned alot from this student.
ReplyDeleteThere is a girl in my geometry class that struggles. She seems to be slow at math and has trouble keeping up with everything we are learning. She doesn't have an issue in one particular area. Her test scores are in the 50s. She is amazing though because she has a really positive attitude and wants to do well. I think she just needs to put in extra time and practice to get it. She also benefits from having some one on one time to answer questions. She is very conscientious and hard working. She has requested a delta class for next year, which is like a resource period or study hall dedicated to math that is taught by a math teacher. It is designed to give extra help to students who need it. She will pass her summer course because she is working really hard to increase her grades, and I think as long as she continues to make the effort, she will continue to pass math classes in the future.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I do not have any identifiable special education students.
ReplyDeleteI have a junior male in my Algebra II class who needs extra attention. He is a marginal student. I found out from the administration that his parents are going through a divorce and that he has had problems in the program. I have spoken to other teachers about him and they have all told me that he is very disruptive in their classes.
He was not handing in is homework. He sat in the back. He was always asking for a pencil. He was talking in class. I spoke to him when he was doing practice problems. He tried to do them but he had extra signs on his papers. I spoke to him about the extra signs and he insisted that they worked better for him than the conventional way of solving the problem. I explained to him that he was doing extra work that would confuse him. He insisted that I was wrong, so, I gave him a special problem to do and asked him to do it his way. He attempted the problem and did it wrong because he confused his signs. I went over it with him so that he would see why his method was causing him confusion. He listened to me, but still insisted that he was right. I told him that he could do the problems anyway he felt comfortable. After that conversation, however, he started to do the problems in the more conventional manner.
I spoke to his mother. I explained that he was not doing his homework. She asked what I wanted to be done. I explained I wanted him to sit in the front row so he could pay better attention and that I wanted him to hand in his homework. The next day he sat in the front row on his own and he handed in his homework. He still asked for a pencil.
At the end of the week he was a volunteer at the board during a math contest we had. Unfortunately, his team came in last and he was the one at the board who had made a mistake in doing the problem. We had a discussion in the class about how the error occurred. I made a point of telling the class that we learn math from our mistakes. I also gave him a double set of tickets for the weekly raffle because l appreciated how he handled himself during the discussion. He still has problems, but at least we are starting to communicate.
I have a couple of students with IEPs, though I haven't actually been able to see their specific sheets. One student in particular is a sophomore taking Algebra 1 remedially. He is very nice and eager to please, although he can be a bit chatty at times.
ReplyDeleteHis biggest struggle to me is remembering steps. Even with an example problem to use as a guide, that just doesn't help. He needs someone to say, "Look at this problem. What did you do first?" Even having the steps written out doesn't help as much as verbal prompting. For this reason he is allowed to take his tests in the resource room, but if given the choice, he will remain in the regular classroom. My CT and I have pretty much quit giving him the choice of whether to stay or go. The verbal questioning is simply too much of a benefit to him.
Like Stephen and Tom, I make sure to call on him when I know that he has correct answers. I beleive this has bolstered his math confidence quite a bit.
As a Special Olympics partner and as a substitute teacher, I have had the opportunity to work with students who need special services and modifications. I have also worked with students who have accomodations under a 504 plan. Each of these students have different needs and abilities, and I enjoy working with them since they typically are very motivated to be successful when they have appropriate services and support.
ReplyDeleteIn summer school, this level of support is not always available. I have a student who is docile in class. He either sits quietly, or he doodles. The only nonzero scores he has for the entire summer are two scores for group activities, where the other student(s) did all the work.
I have spoken with and met with the mother, who indicates that he has advanced grades only with the help of an afterschool tutor through elementary and middle school. She indicates that he was just identified as a special education student, and his home school district is recommending that he attend a different school in the fall that can provide the services that should be able to help him. Unfortunately, he doesn't want to attend a different school; however, the good news is that there is hope that with an IEP he will receive in-school services and the mother will hopefully not have to pay for tutoring services out of pocket (she has great difficulty affording this).
In speaking with the school administration and with other teachers, I have confirmed that this young man has the same behavior in all three of his courses this summer, and will not pass any of the courses. I was frustrated to hear that special education provisions (IEP and 504 plans, accomodations and modifications) are not communicated between school districts, so the summer school staff is not in a position to learn from the experiences and insights of his former teachers, psychologists, special education teachers and support staff.
In my classroom, I have encouraged him, provided him with a doodling sheet in addition to his work sheet. Unfortunately, he has not responded to my efforts.
I hope that he will do better in the fall if he then has additional psychological, special education and teaching resources available that are specifically designed to help him learn and be successful.
Allow me to hasten to add that I have had some measure of success with a number of other students in my class who have behavioral and attitudinal issues. I suspect that, to some degree, their success is as much that they are not in the context of their "usual" school environment, with its attendant peer and social pressures. I have been able to achieve some success with them primarily through engagement with relevant real-life examples, engaging them with in-class application of concepts and skills and through personal connection (communication and positive feedback).
I have 2 students who I suspect to have some type of learning disability since there was no IEP or 504 provided which seems to be the norm for summer school. It became known to me after walking around and assessing their classroom work which was non-existent. There were no notes taken or had any work completed. One of the students is a male who is retaking Algebra 1 course because he has failed it several times and cannot leave high school. He is also disruptive in class but I have realized, it is because he does not know what to do or where to start. It also came to my attention that he has problem with reading therefore it takes him much longer to copy down notes or even start on a problem.
ReplyDeleteMy other student is a female and she is also a repeat but her greatest challenge is being able to focus her attention on the material for a long period of time. She is on medication but after working with her, it seems that the drugs slow her down too much and she is falling asleep. I try to give her as much of my time to help out as I can without neglecting the rest of the students.
She wants to learn but in some cases depending on the difficulty of the material, she gives up and tells me: “Miss, it is too hard to understand.” I try to encourage her and tell her that she did so great on the pervious examples let’s try this problem step-by-step. Sometimes my words have magical power and she works on the assignment and sometimes there is no magic.
I also sent her to the tutoring center in the last period so she could receive personal attention with working on her homework or doing a test in a neutral environment with additional time to finish. I also make modifications on her assignments and tests.
She has just recently joined the class in the second semester and has been in my class for a week, I can’t not possible make a conclusion if the interventions are working for her or not. I hope that by using these interventions in the following weeks, she will eventually succeed in her Algebra 1 course.
For the first week-and-a-half I operated under the assumption that if I had not received any IEPs, then there were no documented special needs students in my class. I later discovered that we do not have access to any of this information over the summer. I'm not sure I understand why this is the case. I would think that, while summer school teachers may not need to know all details, if there are any modifications/accommodations that are shown to help a student learn, shouldn't we be notified? It just seems like such an unnecessary disservice.
ReplyDeleteI have two students who seem to require some special attention. The first, I'll call him E, seems to be very intelligent and eager to learn. He transferred from Brooklyn, where he failed every one of his classes except for art. (I asked guidance if they had any helpful info on him that I'd be privy to. This was the only information they had.)
He's very impulsive; he often blurts things out, and he has trouble staying in his seat. (I'm out of my league here, but I do recognize that these attributes are symptomatic of ADHD.) He's doing very well with the content, and he often asks me if he can put a problem on the board before he's even seen it. He can be disruptive at times, but I get the sense that he has trouble controlling certain behaviors, so I try to remind and redirect him as subtly and diplomatically as I can. ("Good question; please return to your seat and repeat it so your classmates can hear it." ...or, more commonly, "let's talk about that after class," or "hold that thought, you're a step ahead of us, and you'll see how it plays out very shortly," etc) His comments, if on task -- or sometimes if not -- are often very interesting. Sometimes they're left-field non-sequiturs, but that's fine.
I made some adjustments to the seating in this class after I got to know the students better, and I put him in front and off to the side. This way he's near me but has fewer neighbors. I think this may be best, since he requires so much attention and gets into trouble by demanding this attention from his classmates.
The other student -- I'll call her Y -- is having a very hard time with the material. I can tell she is self-conscious about her difficulty in class, so I need to be as careful as I can to be helpful in a furtive way. Like Tom, Stephen, and others, when I see that she gets something, I try to casually give her the spotlight (hand her a marker or direct a question to her). She does *want* to understand this stuff, so -- I'm with you on this, Stephen -- I'll bend over backwards for this kind of student! It's her progress, more than the 'A' student's, that is most rewarding.
One thing that has not helped at all: I call her house once/twice a week to see if she'd like any extra help. Usually nobody answers, and I've learned to expect that nobody will return my call. Even though I know she has an invested interest in understanding the material -- and this is true in class, too -- I feel I have to initiate the contact, because she won't ask for help. In class, when I initiate, she responds well.
One thing that seems to be helping tremendously: I took a strong student aside before class one day and asked, when he finishes in-class work early, if he'd help Y out with her work. He really stepped up! He's a bit of a charmer, and this doesn't hurt the cause at all. The next day, when he was absent, I overheard Y saying what a great guy he is. Another of the boys challenged her, "He's all right..." I think Sharen Lom was right: Let's not flatter ourselves; they'll learn much more from each other than they will from us!
My students seem to all be within 1 standard deviation of at least average intelligence (there are two AP-level students, and the rest of the class are all A or B students). There is one young girl, who is taking the class without the requisite background, and tends to be one needing a lot of attention. I would not classify her as ADD, but perhaps a bit hyperactive.
ReplyDeleteShe has difficulty with some of the basic concepts which she should have already mastered, but she certainly applies herself in class. She is a gymnast, and spends several hours per day practicing this, which is "where her heart is", and seems to not have an interest in her math grade. I have noticed that when we do activities, she gets more engaged (no surprises here), but it's the grinding through the boring parts that EVERYONE has trouble with.
I must say that I am surprised that this (making the boring parts of math more interesting) has not been addressed within the educational business, so it is no surprise that American kids' grades have fallen off (although I have read they are picking back up again). Hopefully, because of ARC and the motivation of idealistic adults seeking teaching gigs will continue to improve things, but I digress.
My point is that I find it a question without an answer when a class has a student that is behind the other students. The amount of effort required to get the DoNows & Lesson Plans (not to mention other activities, or task lists) for the standard class is extreme enough, so delving into the behind average students is practically impossible given the current setup (and the summer session really amplifies this point, as my coop teacher continues to point out).
I think our ARC colleagues (and future teacher associates) could really help one another in providing compelling material, if we take that extra hour per week to stay in touch (via some group, as with Randy's blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, or what have you). And I like Evan's solution (having the faster student help the slower)- I have tried that once and it seemed ok, so perhaps with more direction from me, I can get one of my 'AP' kids to help my hyper gymnast!. Thanks, Evan!
I do have one student who I know has special needs for sure. That is not to say that some of my other students aren't challenged in their own ways. I am doing my best to work with them also. but this one student has Bipolar disorder. He is very sharp and understands the work very well. Neither the supporting teacher nor I were made aware of his condition by the administration. The boy I will call him Dennis (as in Dennis the menace to protect his identity) had his good days and his very bad. On his bad days he was very disruptive insulting and bordered on violence. I found out subsequently that he had to actually be tazed and handcuffed by multiple police offices during the school year.
ReplyDeleteI removed him from the classroom the first time when he told be to "Kiss his A@$" when asked to put his cell phone away. He was ejected for this act and with the principles support I only let him back in to the class after apologized to me in front of the whole class. He was OK fo a couple of days then he became extremely disruptive questioning everything I said and everything I did. He began insulting what I was wearing and I responded that he needed to get beyond my attire and focus on the subject at hand. I had given him several warnings to calm down and be respectful. He then responded he doesn't respect me nor does he have to. I had lost the interest of the class at this point and out came the cell phone and he started playing video games in front of the rest of the class obviously showing disrespect. I told him to put the phone away no sit down and to stop the disruptions. At this point I had moved students around so as to minimize his disruptions and it only lead to him being more disruptive.
Well When told to put the phone away now and to sit down stop the disruptions now he responded with when I am done with the game. I said then that was it you are done with the class. I called in a teacher to sit in the class as I walked Dennis to the office for removal. He was bordering on violence when we walked down the hallway. His arms were flailing and he charged me a couple of times. I just looked right at him and said you are still going to teh office. He was out.
The next day Dennis came to talked to me about his condition. The principle said I didn't have to talk to him at all. I said I would and we we and talked. This was something Ii tried to initiate earlier on. He talked to me about his condition and problem. He knew he was wrong and disruptive and was really sorry. He said he has good days and bad days and when he has a bad day so deos everyone around him.
I said I wished I had know about his situation ahead of time as I would have made accommodations for it earlier on. I would have had him leave for guidance on bad days. I said I couldn't let him into the class at this point because I had ejected him twice for behavior and would loose respect of the class because of it. But I couldn't hold his condition against him so I would make the following accommodation. I would have him take the class in guidance I would give him the work, monitor his progress and tutor him where required. On bad days I would just leave him alone. On a positive It does seem to be working so far.
I do have one student who I know has special needs for sure. That is not to say that some of my other students aren't challenged in their own ways. I am doing my best to work with them also. but this one student has Bipolar disorder. He is very sharp and understands the work very well. Neither the supporting teacher nor I were made aware of his condition by the administration. The boy I will call him Dennis (as in Dennis the menace to protect his identity) had his good days and his very bad. On his bad days he was very disruptive insulting and bordered on violence. I found out subsequently that he had to actually be tazed and handcuffed by multiple police offices during the school year.
ReplyDeleteI removed him from the classroom the first time when he told be to "Kiss his A@$" when asked to put his cell phone away. He was ejected for this act and with the principles support I only let him back in to the class after apologized to me in front of the whole class. He was OK fo a couple of days then he became extremely disruptive questioning everything I said and everything I did. He began insulting what I was wearing and I responded that he needed to get beyond my attire and focus on the subject at hand. I had given him several warnings to calm down and be respectful. He then responded he doesn't respect me nor does he have to. I had lost the interest of the class at this point and out came the cell phone and he started playing video games in front of the rest of the class obviously showing disrespect. I told him to put the phone away no sit down and to stop the disruptions. At this point I had moved students around so as to minimize his disruptions and it only lead to him being more disruptive.
Well When told to put the phone away now and to sit down stop the disruptions now he responded with when I am done with the game. I said then that was it you are done with the class. I called in a teacher to sit in the class as I walked Dennis to the office for removal. He was bordering on violence when we walked down the hallway. His arms were flailing and he charged me a couple of times. I just looked right at him and said you are still going to teh office. He was out.
The next day Dennis came to talked to me about his condition. The principle said I didn't have to talk to him at all. I said I would and we we and talked. This was something Ii tried to initiate earlier on. He talked to me about his condition and problem. He knew he was wrong and disruptive and was really sorry. He said he has good days and bad days and when he has a bad day so deos everyone around him.
I said I wished I had know about his situation ahead of time as I would have made accommodations for it earlier on. I would have had him leave for guidance on bad days. I said I couldn't let him into the class at this point because I had ejected him twice for behavior and would loose respect of the class because of it. But I couldn't hold his condition against him so I would make the following accommodation. I would have him take the class in guidance I would give him the work, monitor his progress and tutor him where required. On bad days I would just leave him alone. On a positive It does seem to be working so far.
I do have one student who I know has special needs for sure. That is not to say that some of my other students aren't challenged in their own ways. I am doing my best to work with them also. but this one student has Bipolar disorder. He is very sharp and understands the work very well. Neither the supporting teacher nor I were made aware of his condition by the administration. The boy I will call him Dennis (as in Dennis the menace to protect his identity) had his good days and his very bad. On his bad days he was very disruptive insulting and bordered on violence. I found out subsequently that he had to actually be tazed and handcuffed by multiple police offices during the school year.
ReplyDeleteI removed him from the classroom the first time when he told be to "Kiss his A@$" when asked to put his cell phone away. He was ejected for this act and with the principles support I only let him back in to the class after apologized to me in front of the whole class. He was OK fo a couple of days then he became extremely disruptive questioning everything I said and everything I did. He began insulting what I was wearing and I responded that he needed to get beyond my attire and focus on the subject at hand. I had given him several warnings to calm down and be respectful. He then responded he doesn't respect me nor does he have to. I had lost the interest of the class at this point and out came the cell phone and he started playing video games in front of the rest of the class obviously showing disrespect. I told him to put the phone away no sit down and to stop the disruptions. At this point I had moved students around so as to minimize his disruptions and it only lead to him being more disruptive.
Well When told to put the phone away now and to sit down stop the disruptions now he responded with when I am done with the game. I said then that was it you are done with the class. I called in a teacher to sit in the class as I walked Dennis to the office for removal. He was bordering on violence when we walked down the hallway. His arms were flailing and he charged me a couple of times. I just looked right at him and said you are still going to teh office. He was out.
The next day Dennis came to talked to me about his condition. The principle said I didn't have to talk to him at all. I said I would and we we and talked. This was something Ii tried to initiate earlier on. He talked to me about his condition and problem. He knew he was wrong and disruptive and was really sorry. He said he has good days and bad days and when he has a bad day so deos everyone around him.
I said I wished I had know about his situation ahead of time as I would have made accommodations for it earlier on. I would have had him leave for guidance on bad days. I said I couldn't let him into the class at this point because I had ejected him twice for behavior and would loose respect of the class because of it. But I couldn't hold his condition against him so I would make the following accommodation. I would have him take the class in guidance I would give him the work, monitor his progress and tutor him where required. On bad days I would just leave him alone. On a positive It does seem to be working so far.
I do have one student who I know has special needs for sure. That is not to say that some of my other students aren't challenged in their own ways. I am doing my best to work with them also. but this one student has Bipolar disorder. He is very sharp and understands the work very well. Neither the supporting teacher nor I were made aware of his condition by the administration. The boy I will call him Dennis (as in Dennis the menace to protect his identity) had his good days and his very bad. On his bad days he was very disruptive insulting and bordered on violence. I found out subsequently that he had to actually be tazed and handcuffed by multiple police offices during the school year.
ReplyDeleteI removed him from the classroom the first time when he told be to "Kiss his A@$" when asked to put his cell phone away. He was ejected for this act and with the principles support I only let him back in to the class after apologized to me in front of the whole class. He was OK fo a couple of days then he became extremely disruptive questioning everything I said and everything I did. He began insulting what I was wearing and I responded that he needed to get beyond my attire and focus on the subject at hand. I had given him several warnings to calm down and be respectful. He then responded he doesn't respect me nor does he have to. I had lost the interest of the class at this point and out came the cell phone and he started playing video games in front of the rest of the class obviously showing disrespect. I told him to put the phone away no sit down and to stop the disruptions. At this point I had moved students around so as to minimize his disruptions and it only lead to him being more disruptive.
part 2
ReplyDeleteWell When told to put the phone away now and to sit down stop the disruptions now he responded with when I am done with the game. I said then that was it you are done with the class. I called in a teacher to sit in the class as I walked Dennis to the office for removal. He was bordering on violence when we walked down the hallway. His arms were flailing and he charged me a couple of times. I just looked right at him and said you are still going to teh office. He was out.
The next day Dennis came to talked to me about his condition. The principle said I didn't have to talk to him at all. I said I would and we we and talked. This was something Ii tried to initiate earlier on. He talked to me about his condition and problem. He knew he was wrong and disruptive and was really sorry. He said he has good days and bad days and when he has a bad day so does everyone around him.
I said I wished I had know about his situation ahead of time as I would have made accommodations for it earlier on. I would have had him leave for guidance on bad days. I said I couldn't let him into the class at this point because I had ejected him twice for behavior and would loose respect of the class because of it. But I couldn't hold his condition against him so I would make the following accommodation. I would have him take the class in guidance I would give him the work, monitor his progress and tutor him where required. On bad days I would just leave him alone. On a positive It does seem to be working so far.