Case of Maria

Lisa Pechacek

Classrooms are comprised of students coexisting in a school with specific expectations and rules. All students are expected to behave and work hard to successfully graduate into the next grade. What happens when a child enters your classroom and they choose not to listen, follow directions, complete homework assignments, work at their seat, or work at all? Is it school related? Could it be some other influence?

As an educator, I often wonder what life outside of school is like for many of my students. I realize that each student entering my classroom encounters different experiences at home and within their family units. I am a third grade teacher at Randolph Elementary School (all names used in this report are pseudonyms). The school is located in a semi-rural area about sixty miles outside of a major metropolitan city. My students come from families ranging from farmers to blue and white collar workers. The school’s population is primarily Caucasian with approximately 8% other races. There are 830 students attending Randolph Elementary, with the number increasing every year. The school is located in an area, which has recently begun to grow in population in the past three years. There are approximately 1,000 new students entering our school system each year. This increase is changing the community and schools in various ways. There are new developments being built including single family homes, townhouses and apartments. This is also bringing in more families with diverse races and backgrounds.

This year my class consists of twenty-four students: twenty-two Caucasian and two African-American. I have one ED (emotionally disturbed) student and four LD (learning disabled) children. In third grade our school groups according to ability for Reading, Language, Spelling and Math. The third grade switches students for math in order to accommodate the ability grouping.

I teach the lowest level third grade math class. I find this my most interesting and challenging class each day. The class meets every afternoon after recess for forty minutes. Two of my students remain in my class while students from the other third grade classes join. The class is made up of fifteen students. There are four ED, nine LD and two non-labeled children in this class. The ED students are mainstreamed into regular education classrooms for certain subjects. There is another adult in the room everyday for support. Three days a week Mrs. Mustard, the LD teacher, comes in and the other two days a paraprofessional helps. The students are enjoyable and work hard. I have established a consistent, positive routine that includes my expectations of their academic and social behavior. I feel this is extremely important with all students, and especially this class. The class does well and most of my students are making consistent progress.

Known Information

There is one student who has particularly caught my attention since the beginning of the year. Her name is Maria (pseudonym), and she is mainstreamed into my math class. Maria is Hispanic and speaks English fluently. She is the only Hispanic in third grade at Randolph Elementary. Maria has been identified as emotionally disturbed.

Public Law 94-142 defines emotional disturbance as a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristic over a long period of time and to a marked degree, which affects academic performance: An inability to learn which cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors; An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers; Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances; A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression; A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems (Zabel, 1988).

Maria is in Mrs. Ball’s ED homeroom class, which consists of students ranging from first grade to fifth grade. Maria is in the ED class with three other third graders, one second grader, two fourth graders, and one fifth grader. Mrs. Ball states that Maria likes to help, almost in a "mothering" manner. Mrs. Ball gave an example of Maria taking a younger child’s hand and leading him to his mainstream classroom. She also spoke highly of Maria’s motivation to learn. Since the classroom is ED, Mrs. Ball works with the children one-on-one for all subjects. This is to help reduce any emotional and social problems. Mrs. Ball also stated that Maria got along with all but one third grade student. Apparently, he had made threats to Maria last year about beating her up. All seemed well in the ED room.

However, in my math class Maria displayed inconsistent academic, social, and emotional behavior. During the first few weeks of school, I noticed her claiming she could not do the work, then turning around and helping another student complete the assignment. She did not sit near any other students for the first few weeks of school, by choice. On some days she was quiet and withdrawn while other days she shouted out and acted up. Her calling out seemed more for adult attention than peer attention; it was never so disruptive that she had to be removed from the classroom. She would shout out, "I can’t do this!" or "I don’t know how!" Maria would begin working as soon as an adult would sit down beside her, usually without the adult assisting with the assignment. She would fiddle with her pencil, sharpen it every few minutes and stall from completing class work, unless an adult was sitting next to her. I also noticed that she always wanted to help me pass out manipulatives or collect papers. She often was disgruntled when I would choose someone else. Maria disliked participating in class activities as well as working with a partner or in small groups. When she was placed with a partner she would sit and do nothing. Her partner would do all of the work while she pouted. All of these factors piqued my interest in wanting to find out how to help her. She seemed capable of learning and was willing to help others but not herself. I felt Maria was lacking in self-confidence and motivation.

In second grade, Maria had been mainstreamed for 30% of the school day. She entered third grade with an evaluation recommending that she spend 80% of her day in a regular education classroom. She is mainstreamed primarily with Mrs. Kermit’s class. Mrs. Kermit has Maria for all subjects except reading (which she has with Mrs. Ball) and math. I spoke with Mrs. Kermit and found out that Maria gets along with the children in her class. She did not socialize or play with them at recess often, but there were not any confrontations. I also found out that Maria was adopted. I wondered if this had anything to do with why she was in the ED classroom. Mrs. Kermit was wary of Maria attending her class for most of the day. She was not sure how Maria would behave if a problem arose.

I then asked Mrs. Ball for Maria's report card from previous years. The grade reports revealed that in kindergarten and first grade, she had been working below grade level in all subjects. Her grades and narratives reflected that math was her strongest subject. Math was described as being difficult for her, but she was performing basic skills. Maria’s math achievements in second grade quickly declined and showed she was increasingly falling behind. It appears that Maria’s efforts in math have impacted her learning in second and third grade. I also noticed she had repeated kindergarten.

Maria’s lack of effort and motivation sparked my interest into conducting my research paper on Maria. I began the research based on the Cultural Inquiry Process, designed by Evelyn Jacob at George Mason University. The first step was to address a puzzlement, or a question as to why my focus student, Maria, was behaving or performing in a manner that I did not understand.

Puzzlements

I am puzzled as to why Maria performs less well in math than she previously displayed before second grade.

I began by creating a list of questions that I thought might be contributing to Maria’s lack of performance in math. I considered both school and outside of school factors while generating my questions.

Questions

Does Maria have a difficult time transitioning into my class for math since I am not her base mainstream teacher? I wondered if she was not comfortable in my setting since she spends most of her time with Mrs. Ball and Mrs. Kermit. Could she be having problems negotiating her identity in different classrooms?

Why does she choose not to sit near other students? I wondered if this had something to do with her self-esteem and confidence. I also wondered if she felt isolated or different because she is the only Hispanic in third grade.

Why does she seem to want attention from adults and not peers? I would think that a child in third grade would want to act out to get attention from peers; she really seems to focus on adults. I wonder if she is in competition at home for parental attention, or if she is left alone often or ignored.

Are the methods I am using not matched with her learning style? I try to include all learning styles in my teaching and assignments. I vary my lessons using visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile learning techniques. She seems to play with manipulatives and does not pay attention to lessons, unless an adult sits near her. Does this reflect how she does her work in Mrs. Ball’s room, Mrs. Kermit’s room, or at home?

Why does she seem to be declining in math? She seems very capable and appears to understand the assignments with an adult in close proximity, but she continues to fall behind.

When was Maria adopted and what were the circumstances? She may have been in an orphanage or removed from her birth parent(s). When her math grades began to decline, was she with her adoptive parents or someone else? What is home life like for Maria now and does it differ from before? Could this explain her need for adult attention?

Reviewing the questions I generated, I believed that I need to look outside of school for further development. I started by exploring question 3.4.1 of the Cultural Inquiry Process, which incorporates the idea of factors outside of school contributing to my puzzlement (Jacob, 1999). I believe that finding out more about her adoption, past experiences and current home situation will reveal useful insight on how to help Maria. I think this will help me understand why she is placed in the ED classroom, her perceptions of home and school, as well as what is important to her. I hoped to gain insight about her need to acquire increased adult attention. I will learn more about Maria’s background in order to build a foundation of understanding her as an individual and her cultural needs. The information I gather can possibly be used to accommodate and help her succeed in my math class.

Gathering and Analyzing Information

To begin gathering information about Maria’s background, I obtained her school record file folder. I learned a lot about Maria’s past experiences, why she was placed in an ED classroom, and why she was adopted.

Family Background

Maria was born in Texas. Her father is an immigrant worker from Mexico and her mother an Hispanic American. Maria has seventeen siblings all from the same set of parents; she was the fifteenth child. Her first language was Spanish, so when she entered kindergarten, she began learning English. This correlates with her low grades in reading, writing, spelling and language in kindergarten. In 1997 Social Services intervened with the family after Maria and a few of her siblings were found digging through a trashcan. They were apparently looking for something to eat. This occurrence happened in Virginia when she was about six or seven years old. I could not find any information about when the family moved to Virginia. The state removed the children from their home due to neglect. Many of the children (including Maria) were placed in foster care. She had visitation times with her biological mother while she was in foster care. It was documented that the visitations were terminated due to having a negative impact on Maria. It appeared that she had not bonded with her mother and may have been sexually abused. She was placed in a foster home with a younger sister. After separate families adopted each child, the younger sister’s family did not want the sister to have any contact with Maria. Apparently, the reasoning was based on the idea that Maria was a mother figure to her sister and any contact with Maria would be detrimental to her sister’s progress. The family still refuses to allow Maria to talk to her sister. Reviewing the information above, Maria may be seeking adult attention because she had not bonded with her parents. She may be trying to fill the void of not having the love and support of an adult in her younger years. Being responsible for her own survival, she was forced to care for other siblings and survive with the absence of being a child.

Adoption Information

Maria was adopted in late 1998. She lived with one foster family for less than a year then moved in with the Browns. The Browns were interested in adopting her; they assumed the role of Maria’s foster parents. Within a year, the Browns adopted Maria. Maria is an only child in this family unit. Her adoptive parents are older parents, approximately 40 years old, with no prior experience to raising a child. They legally adopted Maria when she was eight years old and changed her last name. Because Maria has been in many different situations, I believe that she might be confused about what a family is and means. She first learned survival techniques and shared everything with seventeen siblings. Then she lived with one sister in a foster home. The sister was removed from her, and Maria moved yet into another family, the Browns. Maria has not had consistency in her life since she was born. The stability of a family might be abstract to her because long term relationships have been absent in her life.

School Background

Maria has attended four schools since kindergarten. She was retained in kindergarten and placed in an Emotionally Disturbed self-contained classroom. The initiation of placing her in the ED class was based on documentation from her kindergarten teacher. It was noted that she regressed to baby talk and acted like a baby in class with no apparent triggers. She was not social with anyone, including peers or teachers and often showed violent anger. This may have been when the sexual abuse was occurring or an attempt to gain recognition from her mother.

Maria attended half a year in first grade with her first foster parents. She then moved into my school system when she was placed into the Browns’ home. She began second grade in another school in my county, then transferred to Randolph Elementary when her parents moved to my school district. Maria has attended Randolph Elementary since the middle of second grade. The inconsistency of schools may also be contributing to her decline in math. Even though math seems to be her strongest subject, the transitions between schools may be impacting her academically. She has been experiencing different worlds and may be having a difficult time transitioning into each new setting (Phelan, Davidson & Yu, 1998).

Parent Interview

I made an appointment to meet Maria’s parents for an interview. The interview took place at their home in the evening. The house is located in a very rural part of the county. There are no visible neighbors; the property is lined with woods. Mrs. Brown greeted me at the door. She explained to me that Maria was completing homework with Mr. Brown in another room. I did not meet Mr. Brown until I left. He did not appear to want to be involved with the interview.

The Browns seem to have high expectations for Maria’s achievements in school. It was stressed that it is their goal for her to be working on grade level. They want her to keep up with the rest of the class and to work independently. Mrs. Brown feels that Maria is beginning to build confidence in completing her schoolwork. She also believes that math and science are Maria’s academic strengths. Mrs. Brown believes that Maria learns best when using hands-on approaches, repetition, consistent reminders, and visual aids. She told me that one time while studying for a test, Maria was walking around in circles. She allowed her to continue because Maria was saying the correct answers. Mrs. Brown is concerned that Maria does not like to read on her own. Both parents help Maria with completing homework and she is tutored for reading two days a week. It may be possible that the Browns did not know what to expect when adopting Maria. Her prior life has created immense emotional and behavioral problems. I felt as if Mrs. Brown thought that once they adopted Maria, the problems would disappear. They seem focused on her working on the same level as other third graders. The mother asked me for suggestions.

Mrs. Brown kept referring to a point sheet Maria received at the last school. The point sheet informed parents exactly what was taught and how Maria behaved everyday. The mother addressed the fact that she wants to know from a teacher how each day goes in school. She also wants to know what skills they can be working on at home on a week-to-week basis. The point sheet provided a lot of this information for them in the past. I explained that the point sheet came from the ED teacher in her previous school, and that now that she is being mainstreamed for a higher percentage of time, all teachers may not agree to this system. I wonder if Mrs. Brown is striving to catch Maria up academically, hoping that Maria will be removed from the ED class. She does not like the idea of Maria being in the class, although she understands that Maria needs to work on social skills and reading. She likes that Maria works with Mrs. Ball for reading one-on-one. Mrs. Brown also writes notes or letters to school at least two to three times a week asking questions or bringing to the teachers’ attentions that the work is too difficult for Maria. The parents appear very involved with school and stressing the importance of an education. They have set up a homework routine for each evening. Both parents help Maria with certain subjects. Setting up a routine for homework helps provide security, structure, and meaning to a child and initiates a trusting relationship (Parker, 1999). With this type of support, Maria has a good chance of progressing academically.

Outside of school, the Browns’ follow a routine at home. Every weeknight they help Maria with her homework and she is permitted to watch TV for an hour. On weekends they usually stay home on Friday evenings and watch Maria’s two favorite shows on TV. The mom views the shows with her so she knows what she is watching. On Saturdays Maria and her mother usually go to the library and shopping. Sometimes her father will take her to the movies and the family will go out to eat on Saturday nights. At home Maria can use the computer for one hour. The mother expressed that this was a privilege if she behaved. Mrs. Brown said that Maria gets computer and TV privileges taken away when she does not listen. Maria talks back and yells at Mrs. Brown but not Mr. Brown. The mother expressed her desire to form a bond with Maria. She wished Maria would not yell at her and has a difficult time understanding why she does this. Mrs. Brown said that she tries to be firm with Maria and punishes her for poor decisions. I wonder if Maria realizes what a poor decision is and if there is a different method that could be more useful for discipline. There is definitely a different relationship between Maria and her father than between Maria and her mother. Maria seems to listen quickly to dad and ignore or yell at mom. On Sundays the family attends church. At church Maria helps her mom teach the Bible Study class for three and four year olds. Mrs. Brown said Maria loves helping younger children. This could fill the void for caring for her younger sister. Maria shows a nurturing personality toward younger people. Maria also plays with neighborhood kids, and helps her dad do yard work. Establishing family routine and creating shared time between parents and children bonds family members together and shows how much each is loved and appreciated. These rituals enhance children’s emotional development and self-esteem (Parker, 1999).

I have established a routine in my math class that maintains known expectations and student support. Parker's (1999) discussion of the importance of routines suggests that this may be already helping Maria in math.

Maria visits a counselor once a month to help with her emotional problems and new family transition. The mom said that the counselor is helping them as much as she is helping Maria. The parents and counselor feel it is important for Maria to understand and accept her cultural background. They encourage Maria to speak Spanish, and the father has learned some to help her speak it more often. Maria says she does not know Spanish and refuses to use the language. The parents tried to enroll her in the Foreign Language program after school, but Maria became angry and refused to go. I believe that the interaction with a counselor should be more than once a month in this situation. I think the counselor's fee is paid through state funding; unfortunately, that is all they can afford.

In order for Maria to succeed in school, she must first find stability in her own identity. Related to CIP question 3.5, Maria may be negotiating boundaries in a predominantly Caucasian school with Caucasian parents. I wonder if she feels ashamed or different in math, due to her external appearances. The manner in which she is behaving may be guided by her need to find a comfortable place for herself in the world (Bullard, 1996), the "world" in this situation being my math class. Math may not be meaningful to her at this time in her life either. It is an abstract subject and it is difficult to see the relationship it has to real life. Her mother did say that she cooks with Maria and allows her measure out ingredients. She also has Maria pay when they go shopping to gain more experience with adding and subtracting money. These types of experiences may be helping her make bridges to understanding why math is pertinent outside of school.

Based on the information I gathered, my focus changed. I feel it is necessary to look at communication to help answer the question of how to help Maria in math. It appears to me that creating open communication between Maria, the Browns and myself is one aspect. The other aspect of communication involves assisting the relationship between the mother and Maria. The Browns adopted Maria with no previous child rearing experience. I feel if this topic is explored, then it can help Maria gain a stronger sense of stability at home. Maria currently responds to her father more openly and positively than her mother. This could be related to the culture of her original family. It was documented that she had not bonded with her birth mother. Providing information on successfully raising children that is based on building relationships with both parents can benefit Maria. It would also provide a foundation for bonding between Maria and her mother. I believe if Maria and her parents build a trusting relationship at home, then she will perform better at school.

Interventions

I developed and implemented several interventions related to my new focus on improving communications. The first intervention I attempted was developing a contract based on Maria’s performance in math class. Mrs. Brown expressed how she wants to know what is going on in school to better help her daughter. A contract will foster communication between school and home. It is important to find ways to make parent contacts and communication positive by telling the parent children’s successes rather than just their problems (Ogbu & Simons, 1998). I sat down with Maria and explained the purpose of the contract. Together we devised three goals for Maria to meet during math. The goals were as follows: I will try my very best, I will follow first time directions, and I will complete class work. Each goal is rated differently each day according to this scale: 3 means excellent, 2 means very good, and 1 means needs improvement. I developed the contract with Maria because I believe it is important for children to make decisions in their own learning experiences. If an educator wants a child to share in responsibility for his/her learning, then the educator must take steps to assist the child in locating his/her own goals and objectives (Charney, 1991).

The second intervention entailed providing a program to educate Mr. and Mrs. Brown with parenting skills. I believe this will provide the parents with support and possible answers to questions as well as address Maria’s role as an important family member. If Maria’s needs are met at home, then she will be able to focus on school. After consulting our schools guidance counselor about my research goals, she recommended a program called Positive Discipline (Nelson, 1996). Positive Discipline is a program based on providing parents and teachers with skills to assist children in developing self-discipline, responsibility, cooperation, problem-solving skills, and heightened confidence. I asked the Browns if they would be interested in learning about this program and philosophy. Mrs. Brown opted to view the videotapes instead of reading the book.

Monitoring the Interventions

I began the math contract immediately and use it consistently every day. A week after beginning the contract, I followed up by calling the Browns. They were content with the contract, but wondered why only three came home. I assured them that a contract was completed everyday. They wrote me a note the next day stating that Maria did not give them the other two. We talked about making it Maria’s responsibility to give them the contract each evening and that they should expect one each day. I also spoke with Maria about being responsible and sharing with her parents her reports. This worked! I have called a few times to check on the progress and the Brown’s reaction to the contracts. They are satisfied with the change in effort and the fact that they know how she is doing in math each day.

I have noticed a remarkable difference in Maria’s math performance. Her class work is being completed with effort and she is following directions. She mostly receives 3’s (excellent) on the contract for all three goals daily. She is very honest when she does not deserve a 3 and tells me how she will solve that particular problem for the next day. The contract has increased communication between Maria, The Browns and me. I am going to continue using it until the end of the year. I believe the contract has made a positive impact with Maria. She knows what is expected of her and her confidence seems to have increased during math. She no longer says, "I don’t know how!’ or "I can’t!" As a result, her math grades have improved from satisfactory to very good. This also was a positive method for getting the parents involved with Maria and her school achievements.

In monitoring the second intervention, I asked Mrs. Brown to contact me after she had viewed the video. I did not hear from her for approximately three weeks, so I called her one evening. She said that she had not watched the Positive Discipline tapes yet, but she was still interested. She stated she had been busy and just hadn’t had time to sit down and watch them. I encouraged her to watch the tapes and reminded her that there was useful information that might help the family and Maria. I received a note about two weeks later stating she had watched the video. She noted that she enjoyed the information and is going to try suggestions the tape offered. I called her to find out what she learned or planned to use. Mrs. Brown talked about trying logical consequences, allowing natural consequences to occur, and planned on starting family meetings on a regular bases to talk about positive and negative issues happening at home and school. This was just a few weeks ago. I informed her that I would like to know how the family meetings go and encouraged her to talk about school as well during the shared time. I will follow up on this at the end of May. Mrs. Brown would like a copy of the book, so I am ordering her one to aid her in using positive discipline at home. There is no way I will be able to know if this intervention has truly had an impact on Maria in math, but I hope that it is helping develop a strong family bond. Maria’s successes need to start at being comfortable and knowing her home. It hopefully will help Maria be confident with who she is and where she stands. In the long run, this intervention may have a major impact on Maria’s successes in school. I will continue to keep in contact with the family and follow up to see if they continue to use and learn more about Positive Discipline. I will also talk to Maria informally to get an idea of how she is doing.

I am pleased with the outcome of my interventions. I believe that communication was an area that needed to be addressed in this research process after analyzing the information. Maria is continuing to perform well in math. She is volunteering more in class and is proud of her contract reports. Her work is being completed and she is definitely displaying more confidence. The Positive Discipline appears to be working out well for the family. Mrs. Brown thanked me for lending her the videos and helping her to come up with alternative solutions for their family.

References

Bullard, S. (1996). Teaching tolerance (1^st ed.). New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell.

Charney, R., (1991). Teaching children to care: Management in the responsive classroom. Greenfield, MA: Northeast Foundation for Children.

Jacob, E. (1999). Cultural Inquiry Process Web site. [Online]. http://classweb.gmu.edu/classweb/cip/ [1999, April 30].

Nelson, J. (1996). Positive discipline (Rev. ed.). New York: Ballantine Books.

Ogbu, J. & Simons, H. D. (1998). Voluntary and involuntary minorities: A cultural-ecological theory of school performance with some implications for education. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 29 (2), 155-188.

Parker, R. (1999). The art of blessing: Teaching parents to create rituals. Professional school counseling, 2 (3), 218-225. Alexandria, VA: American School Counselor Association.

Phelan, P., Davidson, A.L., & Yu, H.C. (1998). Adolescents’ worlds: Negotiating family, peers, and school. New York: Teachers College Press.

Zabel, R. H. (1988). Emotional disturbances. ERIC Digest #454. [Online]. http://ericae.net/edo/ED295398.htm