Question:

Ms. Saren,  

I teach 1st Grade and I have a student who is 6 years old. He has an IEP in speech. My problem is this: when I am teaching a lesson, my student appears to be listening. When we do a worksheet, he tells me understands and can even answer questions when asked.  

Each morning we do Daily Oral Language and there will be a sentence he has to correct in his D.O.L. book, such as “The sac has a rip.” Sack was our spelling word and it is on spelling list in front of the entire class. Nearly every morning he will write it just the way I write it. I always tell the class if it is scrambled, (not ended correctly etc). I am really spoon feeding my class! I check his work and circle the word and tell him this word is not spelled correctly--please correct it. I tell him the word is in the room. This goes on forever. He brings it back the same way over and over again. The kicker is--he takes his spelling test and makes 100%!! He spells “sack” correctly.  

He does this with many of his papers. By the way, he got a sucker for the spelling test. Today we were learning contractions and the words were on the board. He told me what to write in each line. When he went to his seat to write it he wrote letters or part of the words. We did this over and over. The rest of the class did not have any problems. This went on for about 45 minutes and when I told the class to get ready to go home he immediately corrected it. This is driving me nuts!  

I have kept him in from his time to do his work and he just shuts down. His parents are very unhappy because they are trying to carry over at home by making him stay in his room. When I try to talk to him about why he is doing this he just looks at me with a stare or turns on the tears. He cries alot for his mom. Mom cries alot too. They do not want him to stay in because they think he needs to have fun. I agree he needs time to play but he also has to do his work. They want me to reward him or keep point for each paper and them give him some sort of reward.  

The principal is now letting him come to her office after school to get something out of the treasure chest when he has a good day. I use the green, yellow, red star chart. He has had lots of red days and yellow. His parents do lots of talking but I think he just tunes us all out.  

His mother today told me he is a perfectionist and this is why he does this. I do not see this myself. His handwriting is not good nor does he care about it. His coloring is not good and if I ask him to draw a picture for his journal, he is the first to finish and is always a mess. I do realize he is just six but he does not put out much effort.  

I think he is very strong willed or just plain stubborn. Could it be passive aggressive behavior or oppositional defiant? I have had other teachers work with him and he does them the same way. When they ask him what is wrong or do you understand he just glares or gives them this poor puppy dog look.  

I have been so stressed out about this. Add this to other student problems and I wonder if I will make it.  

The mom is an aid in our school and is always walking by to see if he went out for PE/Music or recess. Everyday she wants to know how he did. I told her I was going to send him to the principal for her to speak with him and she goes straight to her and sets up a meeting for us to work a plan out. I told the parents and my principal I felt the mother took my course of action away from me.  

I am really working with him. What do you suggest or think? I am feeling that I am supposed to cater to him by rewarding him for doing what he is supposed to do. I do not feel it is fair to the other children. Also when I ask what he is supposed to do on a paper he can tell me. Even when I ask “what did I say?” he could tell me word per word. HELP!!!!  

Thanks,
Vickie

Answer:

Dear Vickie,

I have asked Shelley Linenbach, one of our Education Specialists, to consult with me. Here is what she had to say:

1. Consult with the Speech and Language Pathologist who is working with the student. Have the SLP explain the student’s strengths and weaknesses and explain how his weaknesses could interfere with his academic progress. Particularly ask what strategies would help the student with listening and following directions. Basically, make sure you really understand his disability and how to assist him in the classroom.
   
2. Invite the SLP to observe the student during D.O.L. time. The SLP will then be more likely to have specific suggestions of how to assist the student.
   
3. Whether your student is simply seeking attention or really doesn’t understand the activities you mentioned, make time to work one-on-one with him. Instead of telling him what to correct and having him return with it incorrect over and over again, have him complete the exercise with you.
   • Make your own D.O.L. book and invite the student to work with you. As you do the exercise together, the student will see you modeling how to do the exercise correctly.
   • Make your thought process transparent (i.e., “Think Aloud”) and encourage the student to “Think Aloud” too so that you will get a better understanding of his thought processes.
   • Give lots of praise and positive feedback as the student works, so that he is rewarded and receives attention for what he does correctly.
   • Gradually ask the student to do more and more of the exercise on his own, always praising him for every step that he completes independently.
   • When he is ready to complete the activity on his own, set up a reward system. For example, he could earn lunchtime with you or extra computer time with a friend for every five times that he completes the activity correctly. Although it may seem like he is getting special treatment, your student is in need of an intervention that will result in positive behavioral change.

Richard Lavoie suggests that fairness isn’t about giving everyone the same thing--it’s about ensuring that every student has what he needs to be successful.

4. While you are working with the student individually, monitor his written work. You’ve mentioned that his handwriting and coloring is often messy, and you should see this improve as you work with him individually. If his handwriting doesn’t improve, and if you have any concerns that he could have fine motor weaknesses, be sure to share this information with the IEP team.

What I would add is:

• It is more helpful to see your student’s behavior as objective, measurable and observable (he does not complete his DOL correctly) rather than as a trait (he is passive aggressive).
• Try to remove your feelings from the situation.
• While it is always difficult when a parent works at the same school, accept that this is the case. As a parent whose child is not succeeding, she is anxious and may behave in ways that are counter-productive for her son. She is doing this to take care of him, not to hurt you.
• As a teacher, you measure your success on your students’ achievement. This student is not rewarding because he is failing despite your best efforts, but it is not about you.
• Celebrate the successes of your other students and see this boy as someone who can make you an even better teacher.