December 7, 2018

MSED 499
Foley

Child Study Reflection

Over the course of the second rotation I had the opportunity to observe an eighth grade,
on-level student named Dorothy. Dorothy is in the magnet program at Loch Raven and in my
first mod on B days. Though she is often late to class and calls out more than she raises her
hand, Dorothy is a very smart, very bright student who is able to grasp complex concepts
quicker than her peers. But because she arrives late, she becomes a distraction and disruption
to the rest of her classmates, who during this time would be working on their warm-up and
settling into the classroom environment. Her late arrival causes her to either miss the warm-up,
or in some cases, causes her to then eat her restaurant bought breakfast rather than start on
her morning task. From having watched her, I noticed that she does focused on instruction.
Dorothy gives her teacher eye contact whenever the class is being addressed and especially
when her teacher is close in proximity. When an instructional video was played, she seemed
genuinely interested in it’s content. It was not until independent work was asked to be done did
Dorothy seem to disengage. More ties than one did Dorothy call out during instruction, either
interrupting a fellow student or teacher in mid discourse. There was one particular time when
Dorothy could not find an assignment on her devices. Before she turned to a peer to ask for
help, she closed her device in frustration and placed her head down. This frustration likely
stems from the fact that Dorothy’s grades are important to her. I know this because she
complained to me that she had a 79% in that class and she, “wanted an A.”
After watching Dorothy in another class other than my mentor’s, I had came to the
conclusion that Dorothy puts the same amount of energy and attention into all her morning
classes. Upon traveling to her second mod, Dorothy took her time, telling another student that
she was, “just gonna be late” to her next class which was instrumental music. Dorothy seems to
have no regard for punctuality. Her next class was with a teacher that is slightly more strict than
her first mod teacher. Because of this, seemingly so, she did not call out as much in this class.
Not to mention that there were not as many assignments or class-based questions being asked,
so calling out would not have been appropriate if she did. I noticed that her best friend is in this
class as well, so naturally she enjoys class more. However, during times where the teacher was
working with a groups of instruments separately, she would slouch in her chair and talk “quietly”
with her peers. She had even turned to me during this time to let me know that her first mod
teacher was going to let her, “turn in those late assignments to bring [her] grade up.” For the
most part Dorothy pays attention in this class, but occasionally does have to be given reminded
to following along once the groups of instruments were brought back to a full orchestra. (“C’mon
girl,” from teacher to get her engaged - friendly. “Dorothy, Dorothy, listen!” from peer trying to
help keep her on track - friendly.)
After reviewing her cumulative file, I was able to have a better understanding of Dorothy.
She was up for an IEP in elementary school, but because of parental denial, the plan was never
followed through. I believe that the IEP could not have hindered her success, however, it was a
common comment that Dorothy was very smart and just needed assistance in applying herself
in class. Often had her older teachers asked for home assistance and home practice. I can only
assume this was not complied with because this same request was asked of Dorothy’s
guardians since 1st grade to 5th. I say guardians here because Dorothy lives with her
grandmother and uncle, not her parents. Another trend noticed was that Dorothy has had
consistent trouble with absences and tardies. In 5th grade, she did not meet the 94%
attendance standard and in 7th grade she was absent 8 days and tardy 46. This is likely directly
correlated with her attitude towards punctuality now as she maneuvers from class to class. She
has received three potential to fail letters over the course of her time at Loch Raven. The letters
inform her guardians that if she received another failing quarterly mark, she would have to
retake the class. Each time she was able to bring her grade up and pass the course. This
provides another example of Dorothy showing concern in her grades.
Additionally, based on my notes from the School-Sponsored Event (Non-Instructional
Setting: Lunch), I was able to observe Dorothy in a setting with her peers. Generally, I noticed
her laughing and having fun with friends. She did dominate their conversation by cutting off
friends to speak, which makes sense when comparing the fact that she calls out in class. The
lunchroom was loud and all 8th graders were asked to keep the voices down. The lunch monitor
had came over to Dorothy’s lunch table, by no direct fault of her own, and asked the students to
keep their voices down. I found that Dorothy was happier and carefree in this setting. Being with
her friends is definitely a highlight of her day.
I researched two mentioned factors that I felt were most relevant to this student, the first
being the impact/toll living with grandparents takes on the middle school student. According to
“School Perceptions of Children Raised by Grandparents,” an article by Oliver Edwards, there
has been an increase in the amount of children being raised by their grandparents in the
classroom. Research shows that teachers have begun to view these children as at risk when
considering difficult school functions (Edwards, 2018). Though most of these students actually
are functioning well in school, research states that a substantial number of students experience
academic, behavioral, and social-emotional challenges including adverse school-related
functioning. Furthermore, students raised by their grandparents may also display weak
foundational skills and/or lack important background knowledge due to moving schools, lack of
social and educational support, and inattention to schoolwork (Edwards, 2018). Because
teachers spend the most time with children, they affect student’s school adjustment to be either
a positive or negative experience. For example, general education teachers experience,
“significant psychosocial distress when teaching students they perceive as disruptive and
socially defiant” (Edwards, 2018). The teachers' distress may negatively influence the way they
respond to these students and they may demonstrate less effective classroom management
strategies.
Because Dorothy was often late for her classes, I also researched information about the
results of chronic tardiness. Middle school students arrived late for a number of reasons. The
reasons range from transportation problems to poor sleeping habits. Other factors of student
tardiness included family-related excuses for why the students arrived late (Farrar, 2010).
According to “Schoolwide Intervention to Reduce Chronic Tardiness at the Middle and High
School Levels” by Asli Tyre, “chronic tardiness is one disciplinary problem that can significantly
decrease instructional time at the secondary level.” When students arrive late to class
continuously throughout the day, teachers have to restart class and/or delay instruction, which is
not fair to the other students in class. When many students are chronically late to class, “the
need for systems-level intervention is indicated because it suggests that expectations related to
punctuality are unclear and consequences for tardiness are not implemented or are not
effective” (Tyre, 2011). For Dorothy, expectations are clearly laid out, however, the
consequences for her actions are rarely followed up on. As a result of tardiness, absences, and
class cutting, students miss opportunities to learn. Obviously, these missed opportunities lead to
poor grades, but they could lead to more permanent consequences. Teachers may notice these
students start to, “withdrawal from others, increase in shoplifting and other community petty theft
crimes,” and drop out from school all together (Farrar, 2010). All are results of student tardiness.
Teachers will need to consider their student as an individual, know their background, and use
this information to determine the approach that is best for the child.
 There are several practices and modifications that if implemented, could better serve
Dorothy in her instruction and learning. For example, when students are working on an
assignment as a class, reserve the last 5 minutes before a transition or the end of class for
students to cautiously save their work on their devices. This will give students piece of mind in
knowing where their assignments are saved as well as eliminate the excuse for students to say
they forgot to save their work or they could not find where they saved it. For Dorothy specifically,
I would want to work out a Individual Tardy/Not Tardy plan. This would be a positive and
negative reinforcement practice that hopefully would encourage her to come to class early. For
instance, if she comes to class for a week with no tardies, then I would allow her to turn in a late
assignment but for full credit. We would together decide which consequences would occur if
tardies remained continuous as well as which rewards she would be given if they decreased. As
mentioned, Dorothy has the tendency to call out in class. This could be remedied by moving her
seat closer to the teacher’s, to decrease the physical calling out. I would also have to teach her
how to control her impulse to call out. I would encourage her to write her questions down so that
she can ask during a more appropriate. If that does not work, I would have to give her tough
teacher love by ignoring her when she calls out until she raises her hand to speak.
I will use aspects of this child study process in my own classroom with my future
students in several ways. If I find myself struggling with a student or find that a student is
struggling in class, I know to look over their cumulative file in order to have a better
understanding of the students academic history. This history will help me in deciding how to go
about approaching this students behavior. While conducting the child study, I also became
aware the need for me to build unique and personal relationships with my students. By doing
this, I would be showing my students that I care and by result, hopefully, they become more
motivated to learn and participate in class as well as inclined to take behavior suggests that
ultimately will better service them through their learning.
 References

Edwards, Oliver W. “School Perceptions of Children Raised by Grandparents.” Journal of

Applied School Psychology, vol. 34, no. 1, Jan. 2018, pp. 86–100. EBSCOhost,
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searchport.umd.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1165158&site=eds-live&sco
pe=site

Tyre, Ashli, et al. “Schoolwide Intervention to Reduce Chronic Tardiness at the Middle and High
School Levels.” Preventing School Failure, vol. 55, no. 3, Mar. 2011, pp. 132–139.
EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/10459880903472918

Farrar, R. J. (2010). Too late to learn: Student tardiness in the middle school (Order No.
3396748). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (305239271).
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