Teaching+Case+5

During my first year of classroom placement I worked in a Middle School. This middle school was located in one of the lower socio-economic status regions of the city and had a large majority of disadvantaged children attending it. One child in particular was in my history/english 7th grade block class. This student's mother had passed away unexpectedly of a stroke. There was no warning and all of a sudden this child was without his mother. The child's father was disconnected, involved in his own grief process and emotionally unavailable and did not have the time to help his son. The boy, Trevor, battled with severe depression and acted out in violent ways after his mother's death. I could understand that he was acting out in class because he did not know how to deal with the burden of grief but his actions disrupted the class. He soon began attending counseling sessions, but often times these sessions would take him out of school, sometimes Trevor would miss a couple of classes a week. Also, because of his loss, Trevor was unmotivated to do his homework and often simply did not turn in assignments when they were due. His father was unsupportive when contacted by the teacher and there was concern that reports of Trevor's unruly behavior might result in either physical or emotional abuse by the father.

//Question:// How would you respond in a case such as Trevor's? What actions would you take to help him succeed in the classroom? //Answer:// My teacher created a lesson plan for Trevor that she shared with his counselor so that they could talk about things he was struggling with during his sessions. She also made herself available to work with Trevor after school if he needed some extra time on a project or had missed class the day the assignment was explained and given out. Also, she kept a tape recorder on her teaching podium so she could record her lesson lectures when Trevor was not able to attend class. Trevors grades improved a little bit, but never did reach the levels they were before he lost his mother. Trevor's father was sent home grade reports according to the school policy of getting signatures when a student is failing a class, but my master teacher tried to keep the reports as possitive as possible so that Trevor would not face any unnecessary ramifications of his poor grades. I think Trevor will need some time to heal before he is able to bring his grades back up to their previous levels, but by the end of the year he was performing better than he did in the weeks following his mother's death.