The bell rung and Fred was gone just that quick. I went out into the hallway to determine his location, but that was a difficult task. He had disappeared in the overcrowded hallway. After the halls started to clear, I found him talking to his classmate in the hallway. Once I had stood there for a few seconds he stated that he had to go because he couldn’t be late. He took off down the hall and into his class. When I arrived he was in his seat taking out his paper and pencil to start the warm-up. He quickly completed the quick up and began talking to nearby classmates. The teacher started to go over the warm-up and Fred raised his hand several times along with a few other classmates to obtain clarification. The lesson followed and the students spent the class going over a large research project that they would be required to complete. Fred decided to sleep during this time. During the last ten minutes of class students watched a video about the muscles. Fred’s friend lightly hit him to wake him up. He spent the last few minutes watching and packing his backpack. The bell rung, he yelled bye and jetted down the hall.
After lunch seems to be a very active time for students, as was demonstrated by Fred. Fred entered his first class after lunch with a lot of energy. During his class he had a hard time sitting still and paying attention to directions that were given to him by the instructor. However, when he was focused it was only for short periods of time or rather in spurts. I would not associate the short attention span with lunch, but rather his age and the characteristics associated with adolescents. Fred is considered by many of his peers as in the “in crowd.” He seems to have some influence over his classmates. For example, the class was constantly talking and not adhering to Mrs. Klein. He spoke up and his classmates listened to him. His peers did not instantly stop, but the talking soon ceased. For the most part Fred completed all of his work. However, the transitions are the times that Fred took advantage of. The transitions were not very structured which allowed him to easily get off task. These are the times that Fred chose to talk, sing, and dance. Most of the times Fred was not hard to redirect, but that is energy that could be spent in a more productive manner. The end of class for Fred seemed to be a very active time. He was alive, even when he didn’t seem to be in class. The change of classes seemed to be a needed time. It was a time where he was able to break away from the educational atmosphere and mingle with fellow classmates. As soon as the bell rang he jetted off into hallway where he is able to meet with his peers and talk about various happenings. Fred seems to take advantage of every minute that is allotted during the change of classes. He navigates the congested hallways with ease, but it seemed somewhat difficult for me to locate him. I finally did and we were again off to class.
Fred seems to take pride in completing his work. He started on his warm-up with no problems or prompts. Most of the day was spent going over the assignment sheet that was given out. Fred chose to read the assignment sheets ahead of the teacher. After reading through the sheets he immediately raised his hand to clarify some misunderstandings. The instructor asked that everyone save their questions until a later date. This was just unacceptable to Fred and he asked his questions. Once he received his answered he decided to place his head on the desk while Ms. Klein talked about the project.
The day is coming to an end and Fred seems to be getting tired. One thing that I noticed about Fred is that he makes sure his work is completed and that he understands. I do not condone students placing their head on the desk, but at least he has an understanding of the assignment. There were moments that he woke up and tried to stay alert, but the fight against sleep was a losing battle. The instructor started a video for the students. Fred was then awakened by his friend. He looked at the clock and then proceeded to watch the movie. As the clock ticked closer and closer to dismal the more alive Fred became. He just couldn’t stay seated or on task. He continued to talk through announcements. The end of the day is hard for students and Fred is a true example.
Shadowing a student has allowed me to look at different aspects of child’s day. For instances it has allowed me truly understand the obstacles and struggles that an atypical student faces with the constant transitions. I think to assist students in behavior management we must improve on transitioning between various tasks. This will allow students to be productive in the learning environment with minimum interruptions. Transitioning for some students is fairly hard. Some periods of the day they are very physical and ask children to constantly move. Then they must move into classes where teachers require more structure and discipline. This opportunity has allowed me to understand from the student’s perspective. I think that adolescents will be adolescents, but this is a time for them to learn how to adapt to their surroundings and make wise choices. I believe that we as teachers should not make excuses for the behavior of children, but should be knowledgeable of the obstacles that they face daily.
