Tardiness in Special Education

M.C. High School has a time management problem. The students don’t realize the importance of getting to class on time and may need consequences to help them put their priorities in working order.

More particularly, the students at M.C. High have a self-management problem that begs for a strategic solution. Although teacher-directed management is implemented in the classroom regularly, the equation of behavior cannot be completed, so to speak, without the self-management variable, implemented by the students themselves, and at no time throughout the day is this more important than before and after class, when students are not close enough for teacher direction. Self-monitoring, self-evaluation, and self-reinforcement are three outstanding strategies. As far as tardiness is concerned, students will be reinforced with a routine reward system in place. Self-evaluation would allow them to compare themselves with preset students to determine if lateness is tolerable and by how much. More particularly, they are enticed to determine when and how much they will need to "shape up" for class.

Usually, a form for recording time spent in between classes is provided, and this tactic makes self-evaluation a successful strategy. If not already in place, this effective strategy should become the foundation for hallway traffic at M.C. High. Forms such as these are not only a motivating cue for students to consider time more carefully, but a recorded documentation of where they are coming from and going to. This combined with a simple rewards system should solve any time management problems at M.C. High.

Ms.T's Special Education Challenge

Ms. T has a challenge with creative lesson planning. Much like a writing assignment, classroom planning consists of a preceding and subsequent stage that directly affects the overall process. The organization of the lesson plan can affect the quality of the lesson, and will give the teacher more measurable feedback with regards to what is being absorbed by students.

Ms. T can start by researching and implementing background material into the lesson. Although it is normally used to supplement the material after it has been given, a multimedia assignment like television can efficiently reinforce the lesson.

Since the interactive stage involves adjustments of instruction, each lesson, creative or otherwise, is susceptible to some degree of spontaneity, which often includes a reiteration, or re-teaching, of certain portions of the lesson. This is especially true in special education classrooms, where most learning disabilities are remedied through repetition of material exposure. Although it is usually the last few minutes of class and the early part of the next day’s class, post planning is a reflection on the taught lesson and has measurable feedback from students, the most common and immediate of which is verbal discussion and, of course, non-verbal communication between teachers and students. Since students are usually concerned with how they will be assessed on what they learned, a creative post planning stage might throw them off guard, and may not yield the most accurate results.

Running the gauntlet of steps in the planning process, both before and after the lesson implementation, will make creative plans more efficient for Ms. T’s class.

Mr. Delgado's Homosexual Student Is Being Abused. What should Mr. Delgado Do?

Mr. Delgado has an obligation as a teacher to protect the reputation of John. As a homosexual, John’s deviation from a heterosexual social norm puts him in a precarious position because he is insure of how his peers will react. John is susceptible to low self-esteem, shame, and self hatred - possibly to the extreme breaking point of suicide - as a result of verbal abuse by peers.

Mr. Delgado should resolve not to respond to the jokes made about John unless they are told in John’s presence, and then Mr. Delgado should express his disapproval of the jokes immediately upon their being told. He should model tolerance of individuals and their individual characteristics by ignoring jokes that are intolerant, and showing disdain for abuse towards John when he is present.

When the behavior becomes abusive, Mr. Delgado has the increased responsibility to bring the case to the administration’s attention. Using his own adult discretion, he should decide whether or not the abusers are learning the correct tolerance of their peers. If not, the administration can assure the abuser’s actions will be more consequential. When the students show they are unable to make prudent decisions after learning the right information, the administration can make it for them.

The focus, therefore, is on the abusers, not the victim. John has a right to learn in the least restrictive environment, the same as all other students do, and it is the duty of the teacher on the front line and the administration to assure he is provided that environment.