The class then divided off into specific groups, categorised with the names of shapes, for example, triangle group and square group.
The groups were actually specified by the abilities of the children in them, however, the children did not feel divided due to the fact that the teacher constantly changed which children sat at each table (depending on how well they were getting on with their work). The majority of children did not need encouraging to start their work because they we excited at the prospect of creating their own ending to the story.
I sat down at the triangle group table who found literacy hard and did not immediately attempt writing because they felt it quite a challenge. However, at a slightly slower place than the rest of the class and with the use of spelling books the children gradually began to put their ideas on paper.
During this time, Mark had not even got out his exercise book, one of the assistant teachers got it for him and ran through the exercise again. She asked him whether he had liked the story and discussed a few possible endings and he responded only by yes and no answers to her suggestions.
Another child approached her and she left Mark to get on with the exercise.
Mark seemed completely uninterested and put his head on the desk, it was only when another boy got up and showed the teacher his first paragraph that Mark attempted to copy this title from the white board.
This was a laborious process as he kept losing concentration and rubbing things out. In the end, he gave up, put his head back on the desk and proceeded to flick bits of rubber with the girl sitting next to him.
An hour later the teacher ended the exercise and the majority of children had finished, Mark had hardly started and so the teacher asked him to sit with me and finish writing while the teacher introduced the next exercise.
When I sat down with Mark I asked him to explain the exercise, he was fully aware of what to do but I had to repeat everything numerous times until he would listen, for the rest of the time he just sat back and ignored me.
He did continue to write eventually but the whole process had taken so long that he was very behind compared to the rest of the class.
Mark wrote very slowly but it was obvious that he knew what to say but just found it difficult to put it on paper. He produced around five sentences and then took his work to the teacher who emphasised that she was extremely pleased he had finished, which pleased him also.
Mark lacked motivation towards this exercise which I think was partly due to the fact that he seemd tired and it was the morning lesson. Also, because of the writing aspect of the exercise it was perhaps frustrating for him to have good creative writing ideas but have difficult in putting them on paper.
The teacher was aware of Mark’s unenthusiasm and asked him his oppinions about some of the other childrens stories which she read out loud.
He was extreamly particular in his comments and thought a particular senario involving aliens was very funny. The verbal participation seemed to encourage him to continue with his own work and the teacher had added a good-natured competetitive aspect to the exercise as it would be the three best stories which would be dramatised.
The next task he found easier because it involved drawing cakes in a maths exercise rather than writing. I began to believe he was slightly dyslexic because he found it so hard to but his thoughts on paper and even with the drawing exercise he had to do some division and completely lost interest.
According to the National Institutes of Health and the International Dyslexia Association (Nov. 12, 2002), “Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterised by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition, and by poor spelling and decoding abilities” (Dyslexic Institute of America)
Whereas the The New England Journal Of Medicine said,
“Developmental Dyslexia is characterised by an unexpected difficulty in reading for children and adults who otherwise possess the intelligence, motivation, and schooling considered necessary for accurate and fluent reading."( Shaywitz, 338.5)
During break time which was for fifteen minutes I had decided to used a type of observation called Event Sampling (taylor and Woods) This was a process of recording a specific behavior pattern every time it occurred. I planned to record any interaction Mark has with other children as he had seperated himself considerabley whilst in the classroom.
The bell rings for break time Mark becomes extremely excited and starts to run to the door of the classroom. The teacher calls him back and asks him to walk sensibly outside. 10:15 Mark starts off ‘play’ by telling a group of three other boys (who are waiting expectatly for the orders) that he is ‘it’ and is going to catch them.
10:19 Mark catches the first boy by grabbing his legs and making him fall over, he is then ‘it’ and the chasing contiues
10:24 The first boy concentrates on catching Mark only and jumps on top of him. Marks objecs vilolently by hitting his legs, pushes the boy off him.
10:27 Marks is now sobbing and tells the on duty teacher that he has been hurt by the other boy. He shows the teacher his knee which he said had been hurt and starts to cry.
The teacher takes him into the classroom and is told to sit with one of the classroom assistants until the end of break time.
around with the other boys, he seems to be very relieved to stop his work. It does not surprise me that Mark is the one who gets into a fight and ends up falling over, a teacher on playground duty has to come over and pick him up.
After break time it is time for silent reading, Mark again sits at the back and just look at the pictures. The teacher suggests that he does some extra reading with the learning support room assistant. Around fifty years ago this type of consideration for individual children’s learning need would not be present in mainstream schools, for example ‘ The treatment of ADHD, it is a relatively new concept. Stimulant medication was first used in the management of ADHD in 1937 and has since become the "standard" in patient treatment’ (National Institute of Health)
However, since then to cope with children with special educational needs (SEN) there are organisations such as SENCO who strive to maintain schools SEN coordination.
‘The SEN and Disability Act 2001 delivered a stronger right to
mainstream education, making it clear that where parents want a mainstream
place for their child, everything possible should be done to provide it’ (Sure Start)
Whether Mark is diagnosed with a specific learning disibilty or not, he does have special educatinal needs which I felt were being addressed to some extent, this is due to the fact that this is now Government legislation. The National Curriculum contains one of many statement that will ensure Mark receives the help and support throughout his educational development, ‘Inclusion – providing effective learning opportunities for all pupils.’
This is also the case in The Childrens’s Act of 1989 as part of the welfare checklist to take into account ‘the childs physical, emotional and educational needs’
After observing Mark for the first school day, I noticed that he had no trouble communicating and socializing with the other children during play but tended to exclude himself form the rest of the class during work-time. I believe this was due to a self-esteem problem.
The structure of the classroom didn’t feel divided into ability, and the teacher treated every child with equal respect however, it was obvious to Mark that he received more ‘help’ than the other children. This was evident to me when I approached him trying to tackle the division exercise and he asked me whether the teacher had sent me over to help him and that he didn’t need any help. He was defensive and reluctant to show me his work.
‘Expectations reflect the ways in which pupils predict their own performance level, it depends on previous experience. Self-expectation is therefore learned and influenced by parnets, teachers and others’ (Rotter/Charlton/David 1989)
Mark’s self-concept is developed by his teachers, parents, however, for most of the time he is being encouraged to ‘do better’. This molds his ‘self-image’ and thus has a direct affect on his self-esteem.
Witter (1988) stresses the need to enhance self-esteem in order to aid academic achievement, ‘pupils who lack success in learning often react to failure by non-involvement strategies. They have a lack of motivation and retreat into dullness and laziness.’ When handing out jobs, the teacher only focused on previous achievement. Because Mark had a very low view on what he could achieve already, one the three days in which I observed him, when these ‘important responsibilities’ were given out, he automatically sat with his head down and the back of the class. The situation Mark was in was somewhat of a ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’, which I believe could only be improved by constant support and encouragement.
Purkey (1970) outlined the following strategies in order for teachers to increase their pupils’ self-esteem,
Challenge the pupil – e.g., ‘This is hard but I think you can do it’
Give some freedom – Pupils must have freedom to make real decisions
Respect the pupil – The teacher should never lower a pupils self worth (lecture notes)
I belive that having a the learning support assistant helped Mark enormasly, he spent most of the day with her, usually finishing exercises. It seemed that she was the only one he felt comfortable talking and could get him to complete work and encouraged him to show the teacher his achievements.
At the end all three days homework was either brought back and the next piece was discussed before home-time. On each day the support assistant had to run through the homework with Mark to ensure he properly understood it. There were many incentives for the children to try hard at their homework e.g a gold star chart, and the possibility of becoming a ‘Buddy’ for the next week.
It seemed that on all three occasions that Mark had make some attempt to start the homework, however, it was obvious that no one was helping Mark at home.
I later discovered that Mark lived in a single parent family with his mum. She had to work full time in a supermarket and his Grandma cared him for after school.
It was not an ideal situation and the teacher was aware that it was not possible for Mark to receive the educational support he needed when at home.
Academic achievement and social class are closely interlinked. Statistics indicate that social class is directly related to educational success.
Occupational class is used as an indicator of standards of living, ‘ A person’s named occupation is basically a pragmatic guide to that persons social position and his or her likely command over resources, it is an approximate indicator of family living standards or social position’ (Black 1988)
There are explanations for class affecting educational achievement; the first is Material Deprivation.
The National Child Development Study found that ‘at age 7 children from overcrowded ‘extended’ family houses are 9 months behind their peers’
An extended family is not directly made up of a mother, father and children. Instead it incorporates other relatives the next generation such as grandmothers and grandfathers.
There are ‘hidden costs’ of free education such as uniform, transport, books and school meals so being in a lower occupational class does effect a persons socio-economic status and thus has a direct affect on achievement in school.
Also, the way in which a family is socialized has a large affect on school work.
Douglas (1967) did a longitudinal study on the influence of parental interest on educational success.
He claimed that this was the single most important influence on achievement for children.
The explanation was that middle-class children receive ‘better’ standards of care and that middle-class parents provide more stimulating home environments. Including encouragement and help with homework.
Also, there are cultural problems child from a lower-class background in a school which is filled with professional middle-class teachers and other children.
Language styles are different from that the child is used to at home, which can cause him or her to feel divided form the rest of the class, the ‘odd one out’
I believe that Mark does view himself as the ‘odd one out’ due to the way he constantly separates himself from the rest of the class, however, this only happens in the classroom and he plays with everyone else when in the play ground. It strikes me that he only feels educationally different which I think is a direct consequence of the lack of support from home. As long as Mark keep receiving the excellent support from the teacher and support assistant I believe he will gradually improve academically.
Bibilograpy
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.com -
Douglas, J.W.B, (1967) The Home and the School, London:Panther
Dyslexic Institute of America -
National Children’s Bureau – www.ncb.org.uk
National Curriculum -
Rotter/Charlton/David 1989 – Lecture Notes (Self-esteem)
Sure Start -
Townsend, P., Davidson, N. (eds) and Whitehead, M. (1992) Inequalities in Health: The Black Report / The Health Divide, Harmondsworth: Penguin.
