Saturday, October 27, 2012

Alternative Youth @ Risk

Due date: Wednesday October 31st

Please follow these guidelines to respond to Susan Winterbourne's talk last week:

1. Review notes I made here Youth @ Risk [& your own if you took any]
2. Think about a significant incident that you witnessed either in your school placement or one that stuck with you from previous experience, & Map it out using the criteria Susan presented in her 'John" example [e.g. Situation, Student's Action/Behavior,  Student's Thoughts/Feelings, Consequences]. Note how you might have handled the situation differently.
3. How do you respond to Susan's ship metaphor? [i.e. we cant throw anyone overboard but must find a way to build relationship with the student & keep him/her in class/school]
Post your response as a Comment to this note.


26 comments:

  1. 2) In my middle school placement one Tuesday early in the year, a student named 'bob' refused to work on his reading worksheet. My mentor teacher noticed he wasn't working and told him to start. Later I saw that he still wasn't working and checked in; again he said he'd start working, but when I looked over he was still just sitting there staring at his desk. My mentor teacher came over and eventually sent him out of class for refusing to work. After Susan's speech I think there's a good chance that leaving was exactly what bob wanted. I'm pretty sure this student could be classified as at risk for multiple reasons. Now I think when I'm confronted with this situation I'd like to try and present bob with options to choose from, like working on something else or coming in during lunch instead of just sending him out.

    3) Avast ye mateys! I love this metaphor. The teacher is the captain; "oh captain my captain." Hopefully class is as captivating as Dead Poets with Robin Williams, or as engaging as an adventure at sea, but most likely there will be moments that students just want to jump ship. While it may be easiest to do this; it's wrong. If the students get this "all will make it to port" mentality early in the year I think it can keep them, and the teacher, in check and motivated to work towards solutions in every situation.

    ReplyDelete
  2. After reading your scenario, I wondered if the teacher had followed up with that student? I think that's the piece that often get missed, maybe because it requires the teacher taking time out of an already busy day to meet with the student. I like your thoughts about giving options. But I'm curious, what would you do if the student still didnt cooperate? Based on what Susan was saying, even if the student gets away with it in the moment [you certainly wouldnt want to end up in a power struggle there in class with the student], the behaviour still has to be followed up on. Ideally, the goal would be to help the student understand that the behaviour was not productive and adopt a more positive path.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AZB,

      If the student still didn't cooperate, even after I presented him with multiple options to leave the choice up to him and avoid a power struggle, then I would do my best not to embarrass him in front of the class. This would help maintain the trust and respect in our relationship. I would ask him quietly to stay after class to talk and see if coming in during lunch time is a necessary consequence for not being productive in class. I think a great strategy, even with discipline, is to work out with the students what they think is a fair consequence. That way when and if the problem occurs in a subsequent class, they already know the result because they created/agreed to it.

      Delete
    2. Sounds like a great strategy Alex. What I see you focusing on here is building that relationship - as Susan would say trying to figure out what is going on and helping the student identify/stay on track with their goal. The reality is that every teacher is going to have issues come up in their classroom, across the spectrum from mild to severe. My hope is that you all will think about, and plan for different ways that you might deal with these when they do come up.

      Delete
  3. Back when I was in fourth grade, I was considered an at risk student. I can't remember the details clearly, but it's significant in that I wasn't at risk because of gang, poverty, or feeling neglected. I was an at risk student because of a certain incident that made me closed up as a fourth grade student. I wouldn't do any work, I would just sit there staring at the paper because of what might happen next. Here is some background information. The event took place when I had my head down on the desk, but I wasn't sleeping I was writing notes down listening to what my teacher was saying. The teacher that I had used unconventional ways to get your attention. Instead of going up to your desk to tap on it to get you awake, she used other methods that didn't follow the norm (shouting your name, walking and tapping on your desk). One method was that she threw a chalk, or a chalkboard eraser at us. Throwing a chalk is dangerous, especially being thrown at fragile children. Followed this she yelled our names at the top of her lungs. Her veins from her neck started to pop out and she looked like the...devil. I was the victim of the chalk throwing and yelling on the top of her lungs. I started to fade away and lose interest in what I was doing in the classroom. I was unengaged with everything. I wasn't disruptive in class. I wasn't a bad kid, but I was getting bad grades in school. I was then labeled by teachers that I was at risk. It was time for parent teacher conferences and my parents were concerned in why I was doing badly in school, why I was closed off, and why I was so lonely. My teacher didn't tell them the truth of what had occurred and she was trying to play it cool and blame it on me saying I was unengaged. There was no motive to console a fourth grader. All she thought about was to throw more chalk at students. After my conference, I finally had the guts to say why I was so closed off. My parents, then, filed a complaint at my teacher and they decided to look for another school that was closer to home. But, I told my mom that I wanted to stay because all my friends were here. So, they decided to let me stay and the teacher got fired from her job. A few weeks later, there was a new teacher that was unlike my former teacher. More energetic and not so mad all the time. I started to get my work done and it made me stronger as a student. The way that I would handle the situation is to more respectful of these students and be able to consider them as human beings and not as dogs. I would also not throw things at students. Sometimes that can be detrimental to the mind.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mapping it: situation: teacher through chalk at me and disrupted my psychological development and made me closed off from parents and friends which resulted me in not doing any work at all and being unengaged, students action/behavior: I was closed off and had bad grades which resulted in a parent teacher conference, students feelings: I was angry, sad, anxious, nervous, bubbled up, "emo," unengaged, quiet, and scared, consequences: parent-teacher conferences, teacher got fired, bad grades, and loneliness


      Metaphor: The metaphor speaks to heart of the concept of team. We are only good as our weakest link, I think, is a quote that kind of speaks to the metaphor. In a team, everyone has to be accountable for. Each team member is vital in becoming the best of who they want to be and each team member has an important job to do. It is to make sure that their members is ready for the big game, or is ready for the challenge. It is something that we shouldn't take for granted. Another way that I thought about it, for example, is a simple machine. We can consider the different parts of the machine the classmates. The parts that make up the machine is the classroom. If one of the parts gets rusty, or damage, we tend to look at the problem and decide if we should buy another to replace it, or we should clean it out. This is the same concept. If a student seems to be unengaged, they need to be engaged in order for the machine to operate. Otherwise the machine won't work at all.

      Delete
    2. It is amazing what some teachers feel they have the right to do in the classroom, but unfortunate that it lead to the teacher being fired. Though it does send a strong message to other teachers to be more respectful of their students, but it doesnt give the guilty teacher a chance to recognize the error of their ways and try to make amends. In terms of the effect it had on you as a student, this is a good example of how we as teachers can really influence our students and their school experience.

      Delete
  4. There are many students in one of my mentor teacher's classroom that may be considered at-risk students. One in particular, was not responsive to doing work in class, as in Alex's case. Instead of constantly nagging her or sending her out, we like to move our students so that they are surrounded by students who positively influence each other (consciously or unconsciously). We are really mindful of each of our students and the affects of their environment. Additionally, not knowing about how to interact and help this specific group of students, I fortunately handled the situation favorably. I let the student know that beyond the single assignment, we care about her and her success. I didn't know it at the time, but from gathering information from Susan, I can conclude that at-risk students just want to be acknowledged. She became a more diligent worker in the class, engages in conversation with me, and actively seeks me for help when she needs it. My mentor teacher was surprised by this because she continues to be considered a behavioral problem in many of her other classes with low scores, and it is not consistent with her actions and grade in our class. If I had reacted any differently, (because I really did not have any experience here so it's only by chance that I did ok) I could understand the perspective of the student and the unintentional message I would be sending the student. Susan's presentation was insightful and resonant. In the future, I'll be more sensitive to my actions, responses, and their effects.

    Susan's metaphor is pertinent to many situations, but I wholeheartedly agree that giving up on a student is the worst response possible. It is a complete disservice to all individuals involved. I like that concept that Tony brought up that we should not leave students behind because we are accountable for all students. This is definitely a reflection on who we are as teachers. To finish, I'd like to reiterate Alex's idea that we should work to providing options and solutions for every situation.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kellie, moving around off-task students so they are surrounded by more productive classmates sounds promising. So many students have a negative stereotype built up against teachers/adults, probably because so many adults have talked down to them, have talked AT them, for most of their life. Using peers as a means to model correct behaviors seems like a way to help this problem.

      In addition doing your best to foster a positive relationship and share with your student, like you did with yours, that we care about them and their success beyond that single assignment, will hopefully help to break down this adult talking-down perception that many students have.

      Delete
    2. I definitely agree. I particularly like the way my mentor teacher approaches the constant moving. He set up an environment where students know their seats may not be a permanent spot, and he also has an open relationship with students so that when he suggests they move to a different table, they are not only obliged to because they are students, but also because they know my mentor teacher has their best interests at heart. He lets them know that he thinks they will do better in at a different location and positively reinforces success and acknowledges the positive outcome of the move.

      Delete
  5. At my middle school we had a student who would talk back and not focus or engage in activities. I think he would be considered an at-risk student because of his family situation and his “labeled behavior” in class. However, every time he misbehaved, my mentor teacher would take him to the back room and talk quietly about his behavior with him while the rest of the class worked on the assignment. He would come out with a better attitude and proved himself to be a very smart individual given the chance. Sadly this student had to change schools because of living/family complications so I will not get to see how he succeeds in the future. However, I think it is really great how my mentor teacher always handled the situation. He was patient and told the student he believed he had more in him then always “acting out”. The relationship that they formed helped deter further misbehavior from the student and created positive reinforcement.

    Also at my high school my mentor teacher there has mentioned some students he considered at-risk and “not going to make it” and I often hear the teachers talking at lunch about this kid or that kid that they threw out today. However, I never hear anyone talk about what to do to help them and keep them engaged. To me it seems that dismissing a kid from class is the “easy way out”. I would prefer to keep them in class and make them learn. That way you are not succumbing to the student’s will and also, hopefully, they still learn something.

    I really liked the ship metaphor that Susan gave us. I think that this is really important not only in a classroom setting, but in relation to teams and the home as well. I know that many people have seen the movie “Lilo and Stitch” and every time I hear about situations where kids are given up on, I think of Ohana. “Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind.” Being in a classroom is like being part of a family, or part of a team. There is an unspoken code that because you are part of a team, you have each others backs and you will not give up on each other. As the teacher you are like the leader of a team or family and it is your job to make sure that you let that student know that you have their back and you won’t give up on them, no matter how much they want you to think that you should. Like I said before, kicking a kid out in the “easy solution”. Challenge yourself and your students by sticking with them through the rough times and the good times.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree, kicking a kid out is the easy way, whether it's out of class or out of a school. I've actually seen staff heave a sigh of relief when a troubled student ends up moving on to another school. I understand how it happens and try not to be too judgmental towards teachers and administrators who give up. These kids can really make life difficult, stressing out the teacher, other students and really disrupting the learning environment. But just passing this kid on to be someone else's problem is not the answer. It's hard work, and maybe an intervention will be required, but if we dont support at risk youth what happens to them once they finally get kicked out of high school - basically the last support system before they fall through the cracks and into serious trouble?

      Delete
  6. 2. In my placement at Hillsboro High I have a student who is considered to be a troublemaker, a class clown, a distraction, and as I once heard a student refer to him, a psychopath. My one experience with this student was in a Spanish class. The students were supposed to write up a quick 1 minute conversation and perform it in front of the class without having to memorize it. The student then proceeded to goof around and not work at all in his group for 15 minutes. As I answered questions from groups right next to him, I asked him why he hadn’t written anything yet? He responded that he had just gotten his tongue pierced and couldn’t speak a lot (which didn’t stop him from jabbering on for the whole class period). He refused to do the assignment and didn’t speak with the teacher or myself as to ways that he could make it up (I offered him some options and he refused those options). I had to repeatedly tell him to quit disturbing the other groups, to quit putting his feet up on the table, then I had to take away his cell phone (he was blatantly texting in class), move him to another seat, tell him to put his feet down again, and then eventually he was sent outside of the classroom. I spoke to him outside of the classroom and he didn’t seem recalcitrant. He actively knew what he was doing. I don’t believe there was any other way of handling the situation or at least, I’m not sure of any other way.
    The student isn’t dumb, he knows how to get kicked out of class, he knows that is what he wants, and knows how to do it. The situation is that he doesn’t want to be in class. He’s a below average performing student who knows how to work the system. He knows that his behavior will get him sent out of class and does it anyways because it achieves his goal of avoiding authority and work. He knows the consequences and knows that he will get a referral and that referral will most likely lead to a suspension (he had multiple referrals from other class) and thus would be able to avoid having to go to school at all. Is it out of fear of seeming dumb? If that is his fear, that is how he is already perceived by students around him. It’s a difficult situation to be put in for a teacher, having a student not wanting to be there and actively trying to get out.

    3. My first thought about Susan’s ship metaphor was all of the students in our class on a ship. In this mental image, we all had jobs on the boat that were crucial to the survival of the boat. I believe in this situation it’s a symbiotic relationship. The teacher cannot thrive or succeed without willing and active participants who do their tasks and are willing to learn new tasks or manners of doing things. Reciprocally, students cannot survive without having a guiding leader that instills confidence and practical applications of the material. If this captain-crew bond isn’t set up well, then educational mutinies will be more prevalent and the progress that was once made between the two sides will be forced to walk the plank.

    P.S. In my mental image, here were the positions on the ship (just what came to mind/don’t get angry at me about stereotypes):

    Holly and Nicole: catch fish, study them, cut them up for food, pass guts on engineers
    Nathan and Kynah: make fish guts into fuel for ship
    Tony and Kellie: chart our maps and speeds and do other cool calculations
    Krystal: Cook
    Ben: first mate
    Dylan: Captain
    Alex: Guy in crows nest looking for stuff.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The scenario you describe Ben is probably one of the most common there is. My question is why is it that this student is able to get away with this behaviour in so many classes? This example highlights a flaw in so many of our schools. There seems to be no system in place to make sure that these kids dont just get lost in the cracks. Where's the leadership that makes sure that communication is going on between teachers, administration, and parents? Who ultimately takes on this responsibility? Shouldnt everyone? [that whole it takes a village thing]. Instead what often happens is that students like this, whose behaviour is not so severe that it is dangerous, just get good at navigating the system. There are no consequences, and more importantly, the student's needs are not adequately addressed.

      Delete
    2. Ben-what you described is one of my biggest fears really because you know exactly what the student is doing and you just want to say talk to me or tell me what is it that is making you act this way, trust me its okay I will understand..blah blah. But unless you have that relationship built, theres no huggin it out. I would hope that maybe you can build repoire with him and let him see a bit of your personality, maybe then he will start to trust you. As far as the ship scenario-I see Alex has changed from event coordinator to crows nest lookout, my thoughts are that he would be better suited for the events postion if it is still available.

      Delete
    3. Thanks for the comment Anita!
      @Holly. No positions available.

      Delete
  7. 2. At my high school placement their is one student who is extremely disruptive and has been kicked out of repeatedly. What usually happens is this student shows up for class, late most of the time, and begins to disrupt the class the second he comes in. Usually he yells to other students across the room and throws things. Most of this behavior happens during SSR. Obviously he is bored, because his work is top notch and he cruises through the readings, so he disrupts class to get put in the hall so he can work on whatever he has that is interesting to him.
    Honestly I would likely handle this situation by moving this student into hall, because his behavior brings the entire class to a screeching halt, and none of the other students can concentrate on classwork while he is in the room.

    3. I really like the idea behind the metaphor, and I believe that it would be great to keep all students in class, but some student do not do well in the traditional classroom. Unfortunately when their are 35-40 students in a class you can't do much to help disruptive individuals, especially when they refuse to talk to you outside of class time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Moving the student to the hall can serve as a temporary fix - given that the student behaves out there. But what happens in the longer term?

      Delete
  8. 2. We have one particular student in my seventh grade classroom that is difficult to say the least. He is sent out of at least one class every day for disruptive and disrespectful behavior; I have had to send him to the “time out” and in school suspension room twice myself when I was teaching or working with a group of students. This isn’t new behavior for him and we were warned about him before the year even began by the teachers he had last year, as well as in a meeting with the principal about him and how to try and handle him in the classroom. We tried to suspend judgment about him and give him a clean slate in at least our classroom, which seemed to work for a little while but things quickly deteriorated to this point. We have tried so many different things to get through to this kid but we can’t let him disrupt everyone else so we have to send him out (since separating him doesn’t work) and the rest of the students expect us to send him out at a certain point because they have a right to learn too and get tired of his acting out. We have addressed his mother and tried to work out some kind of plan or get more information but she is more difficult than her son. She got so aggressive with the teachers that she is no longer allowed down our hallway, into our classrooms or to contact teachers directly: everything has to go through the principal which get really tiresome. We feel like our hands are tied with this kid, and that there are no other routes because it seems like we have tried everything and just been beaten down.

    3. I would love to have a classroom culture that is like Susan’s ship metaphor where everyone makes it to the end together. With the inclusive classroom model, not everyone should be working on the same thing though which creates a divide and puts people on different ships. It wouldn’t be fair to hold back my TAG readers to where my English language learners are, nor would it be fair to give everyone the higher material when they aren’t to a point where they can understand. Everyone has to read so I can’t just tell a few who are good at it to do it all, have others who are good at art do the drawing for the project and everyone who speaks well in front of others do the presentation. It doesn’t work that way. They all have read, they all have to the projects and they all have to present. They have to meet learning targets on their own, even if we are working in groups or together as a class. If everyone isn’t working on the same greater project or goal, how can they help each other in the ways Susan talked about?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not sure that I see it the same way Krystal. For a ship to run well it requires people with different expertise and different jobs/roles to perform. Where I think it can become problematic - going back to the typical classroom scenario - is when there is a perception that the TAG kids are "better" than the at level or below level kids.

      Delete
    2. Krystal,
      the problem with the student is a stressful and problematic one. I hope that it can be resolved but I can most definitely feel your pain on this one. I just hope that the other students are able to get the time that they deserve.

      Delete
  9. 1) I recently got to work one on one with a student who by many criteria would be considered at risk. She is absent from school often, has very few assignments turned in and get frustrated and overwhelmed in class. As far as behavior goes she shuts down completely with my mentor teacher. She is upset that she is behind and needs help to catch up. I think she feels like she doesn't have the power to catch up on her own so when my mentor put the expectation on her to catch up alone she gives up. I took her to the library to work one on one and I honestly wouldn't have done anything differently. I saw how she shut down with my mentor so I decided to just be positive the entire time and instead of telling her what I wanted her to do I made suggestions about how she could get started and offered much encouragement along the way. We organized her binder and talked about how she was feeling when she was behind and why she didn't do homework. I think she really connected with the fact that she now has a teacher who had a similar time in middle school as her. I'm glad I was able to form a relationship with her and I hope she won't have so much anxiety coming to school even if she's behind.

    2)I thought it was a somewhat effective metaphor. I did get the meaning that you can't leave any student behind no matter how difficult they are. They always can contribute something to our class. However I don't think ships really work like that! They throw people in the brig all the time. Which doesn't fit with the whole metaphor.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You raise a good point Kynah - that does throw a bit of a wrench in the works :0) Does that make the metaphor less useful I wonder?

      What you describe with your student seems to be precisely the kind of support that student needs to get on track. I hope that you will be able to continue working with her.

      Delete
  10. 2. In my high school placement all three of my freshman biology classes are at least 38-40 students. With that being said, one of my biggest fears is having a situation in class that is out of my control. I have not personally been involved with a disruptive student but I know that my mentor teacher has many of times. At Glencoe he is said to be the "one to go to" if you ever have a problem. As far as behavior issues his class is very well mannered and I have never witnessed a crazy outburst or angry temperament. I think this has a lot to do with how my mentor engages the kids at the beginning of the year. It is almost as if he treats everyone with the sensitivity that they are "at risk". He connects with the students by having them fill out a personal bio survey and some of the questions have to do with family, anger management, and personal history. He also discusses how he was an "at risk youth" and the troubles he had throughout high school and explains to them by the time he barely graduated the only option he had was the military so thats what straightened him up. Telling his story and giving the students an open forum to communicate their needs I think prevents a lot of unnecessary disruptive behavior for his class. The only thing that I have witnessed was a moment of inappropriate behavior not necessarily disruptive. A boy in the class grabbed a girl inappropriately on the behind in front of the both of us and this was unwarranted attention by the boy. After this happened I took the girl and my mentor took the boy outside the class, separately and we addressed the issue from both sides individually. After assessing the situation from both sides we identified that the boy had grabbed the girl's behind and the girl was quite embarrassed and felt extremely uncomfortable around him. This of course had to be reported to administration and the next day the boy had been moved to an entirely different class and had been suspended for a few days. Turns out this was not the first incident of inappropriate touching.

    3. Eekkk so I feel what I am about to say may get me in trouble...I liked Susan's metaphor for the most part however, this model related to real world situations, not an elite bunch of hand picked people for a NOAH voyage is hard for me to conceptualize. My mind always plays both sides of any idea or issue so I ask the hard questions. I don't think everyone can make it-all the time and thats REAL. This metaphor is wrapped with sunshine and unicorns to a degree. It would be my dream come true for everyone to make it to port with strong emotional ties to each other. Creating that type of atmosphere is my goal as a new teacher in some ways but I don't want to be naive about my expectations either. I would never accept throwing someone off board and never will have that mentality, but students have choices and I can't make all the right ones for them. Some students may want to jump overboard.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so glad to hear that you have witnessed a mentor who takes the time at the top of the year to get to know his students and share his personal experience with them. It helps them to see the human side and I'd bet this has made a big difference to the classroom dynamic. I also like this idea of thinking about all teens as being to some extent 'at risk'. I dont mean this in a bad way at all, but when you consider all the things they are going through developmentally, socially, physically, cognitively, at home.... this perspective might help keep us sensitive to our youth and less judgmental towards them.

      Re the metaphor, it is just that, a metaphor. It is not perfect, fully comprehensive, or as you suggest always realistic. I just think, for some, it can be something to strive for. I think teachers need to do the best they can, and recognize when they need to get help from outside resources. My main issue has always been that there needs to be a variety of services in place for all youth who might not be able to succeed in a traditional school environment. We cant expect a one size fits all approach to meet all of our students' needs.

      Delete
  11. 1. There is one student within my placement that stuck out to me during the whole time Susan was speaking. He seems to come from a low s.e.s. background but I am not entirely sure. He simply does not get along with my mentor teacher, rarely hands in work, and sadly is at the butt of many of my mentor's "jokes." Because of this I noticed he is always asking to go to the office because of a "headache" or "not feeling well." At first my mentor teacher would often let him go, only to see him running through the all fifty minutes later when the class is over. The situation is that he simply dislikes my mentor teacher (or at least that is what I have came to believe). And his actions or behavior is to act ill whenever humanities class begins. This worked for awhile allowing him to disappear for fifty minutes but now my mentor teacher no longer lets him go to the office or bathroom for extended periods of time. Instead he is forced to sit in the front of the classroom and "participate" on a regular basis. How would I go about this differently? I am not entirely sure, he is a very capable student however he simply does not enjoy my mentor and therefore refuses to do his work. First of all I think I would try and find a comfortable place for him to set and do his work. Last week we also had a spelling test (that is not actually graded but just used for part of their "wordy Wednesday" vocabulary unit.) He was obviously frustrated and did not want to do the spelling test. This took place right after we had heard from Susan so I approached him and asked why he didn't want to do it. And his comment was that he knew he would get them all wrong. I simply tried to help him by saying, "that's okay, then we will know what words we need to work on. Take the spelling test and the ones we miss I will help you correct so next time we can do better." To my surprise the student got 10 out of 16 right, and was actually feeling pretty good about him self. I think allowing students to fail is okay, if their is reinforcement there that failure is not the end of the world. When given a chance students will often surprise their teachers and even sometimes themselves.
    2. As for the metaphor I thought this was a beautiful picture. Our goal as educators should be for all students to become successful in one way or another. As Susan pointed out each person on the boat had a role. Developing roles within a classroom can be difficult, however you can also lead each student to supplying their strengths to a group. Dan talked about having students take multiple intelligence quizes at the beginning of the year and then determining groups by these quizes. Meaning giving each group a member with a different intelligence, I think this is a great idea. It allows all students to feel important within their group and to the class. Furthermore, it makes students see their peers as valuable not matter the differences between them. That is simply one idea have for working with this I look forward to reading all fo yours.
    Dylan

    ReplyDelete