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Dear Ms. Wormwood,
From looking at all of Calvin's archives, it's clear to see that he is often distracted in the classroom. From high level energy to not caring about the task at hand, its clear to see why you may be struggling with keeping him on task throughout the day. However, through our research, we believe that he may not find the content interesting or worthy of his time.
The picture above is an archive that we found from one of your lessons about Lewis and Clarke. Although this interaction was short, Calvin displayed a lot of meaningful behavior. He might not have known a lot of Lewis and Clarke, but he shows a clear interest in Captain Napalm. Rather than discussing after class with him, you could relate the content he is expressing an interest in to the lesson you are presenting, relating Lewis and Clark to superheros and triggering his interest in the subject at hand. At the end, he also expresses that he is able to memorize "useless" information. Although it may not relate to the matter at hand, he is able to focus and recall information when necessary.
In this image, we can see that Calvin is making an argument to not participate in class, but the important thing to note is how he is making the argument. Considering the vocabulary and concepts he uses in his argument, as well as the fact that they are used correctly, Calvin demonstrates higher thinking and the fact that he can create a cohesive argument. This means that he has thought about this and isn't being lazy, but rather is just disinterested in the subject being taught.
Finally, he displays a developed interest outside of textbook readings. Although the subject matter may not have been appropriate for class discussion, you disciplined him for wanting to create a safe space for communication between him and his classmates. A better approach to Calvin's idea may have been to create a class discussion about what might have been taught at the time. This way you're able to accommodate Calvin's desire to communicate and at least its on the right subject.
Some techniques to help Calvin focus on the task at hand might be to offer meaningful choices (Schraw, Flowerday, Lehmon, 6 Suggestions). Calvin is capable of holding a vast amount of knowledge, but is unable to demonstrate this great ability due to his lack of interest in the subject at hand. He is offered one subject and it can't be changed to a more desirable topic. Offering multiple topics for him to choose from may engage him more because there might be another topic he'd be interested in.
We noticed that Calvin has a very wild and vivid imagination. He doesn't lack creativity and just wants to express these imaginations. Schraw, Flowerday, and Lehmon present a strategy in their article called "selecting texts that are vivid" (6 Suggestions). This strategy includes texts that are, "...vivid with such components as rich imagery, suspense, surprising information, and engaging themes" (Schraw, Flowerday, and Lehmon, 6 Suggestions). Calvin would then be able to use his imagination to picture whatever topic is being presented. When there's a picture, there may be a peak of interest!
In conclusion, Calvin has the ability to learn in your classroom. When he is interested, he is able to display large amounts of knowledge on the subject at hand. To accommodate Calvin, it may feel like you're giving into his wants, but these accommodations could be beneficial for the entire class as well. Rather than just assuming he is lazy or disregarding his disinterest, we recommend you relate things that he is interested in to the subject matter in order to trigger interest and help him develop a love for learning in the classroom, as well as outside the classroom.
Sincerely,
Group 1 in PSY 347
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