Kristin W. (CFCC)

Yesterday I started my J.A. lessons in a first grade classroom. I had been to the class one time before but just to observe and talk to the teacher about what times I would work. When I got to the class at 9:30 am the students were about to start their spelling test for the week. The teacher told me when we met before that she had one student (a girl) that was her problem student. She said that the girl was very smart and wanted to learn but she just could not concentrate long enough to do any work. The teacher had already had the girl tested for gifted and it was found that she had an average IQ. The teacher still thinks that she was just unable to concentrate long enough to determine an accurate IQ. The behavioral specialist determined that the girl is severely ADHD. The teacher has had multiple meetings with the parents, who do not want to use medication, and she has tried to help the parents find other forms of therapy, diets, herbs, exercise etc. But the parents say that the child’s behavior does not bother them. They can just send her outside to play. But this presents a problem to the teacher who cannot do the child's state mandated tests for her.
So, when I got to the class I sat in the back to get my materials ready while they completed their tests. As soon as the tests started M started talking, not to any one, just talking. At first I just acted like I was ignoring it. I noticed that she had written her name on the paper and numbers but she was not writing her words instead she was spelling random words (out loud) that the teacher used in sentences or standing in the back reading the pledge of allegiance or asking me if I would give her the pencil sharpener that was on the desk in front of me. After about two minutes of consistent disruption to the rest of the class. I sat down beside M and tried my best to keep her on task. I told her each word and pointed to where she need to write it and she wrote some of them but most it seemed like a thought crossed her mind in the middle of the word and she would stop and tell me something or ask me something. She was able to spell most of the words that she actually wrote but even one on one I was only able to get her to write half of the words. About three quarters of the way through the test she told me "I can't think about this right now I'll take it home and my mom will help me". I told her that it was a test and she would have to do it in class. I also told her that it looked like she was doing really well so far. Between me and the teacher we convinced her to write the dictated sentence at the end of the test.
M is not your average discipline problem, she is a Caucasian girl that seems very intelligent. I think that in this case she really does have a problem. It is very sad to me that her parents have not been receptive to any form of help that the teacher and various therapists have offered because she is very nice and loveing and seems very intelligent. On top of this I do not think that her behavior is fair to the rest of the class. They must not have one assignment or test without constant interruption. And the teacher cannot work one on one all day with one student and effectively teach the others.
Other than M's interruptions my lesson went really well. The students were excited about the lesson and they were even better behaved than the second grade class that I worked in last year. I expected more problems truthfully. One thing I noticed though is that with the "specials" like reading, PE, and other classes outside of the class room it does not seem like the students have a whole lot of class time. I think that this is positive and negative. It keeps them moving but they have a lot of lost time. Also, the portable's water was not working (not to be fixed until after Christmas) which means no water for water breaks and no bathroom. This to me was terrible. I am pretty sure that it is required that classes with that young of students are required to have a bathroom because it is not entirely safe to let students leave the class to go to the bathroom. Also the first day that I went there the AC was broken so you can imagine how hot it was. Not conducive to learning. The teacher brings a water cooler so that the class can take water breaks but this is not a requirement. I think if my child was in a class all day and only had access to a drink at lunch I would be very upset. On the upside the school is very clean and nicely landscaped I think the main problems are in the portables. Also, I know the opinion about teacher’s lounges but I like the fact that the teachers have a separate place to eat from the Cafeteria or at the very least there are people who work in the cafeteria so the teachers do not have to eat in the cafeteria with the kids (they could go back to the classroom). I think that having a calm lunch would be very important to me. Teaching can be very stressful, and bringing your stress level down is important to being a successful teacher, in my opinion.