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Ms. Wormwood effectively makes talking to her a "punishment" and is very closed off to Calvin and what might be causing his outbursts. She makes no effort to engage with him and try to help him. She views him as a "problem student" and does not try to address the underlying issues he might be dealing with. There is no relationship or effort to connect with Calvin on her part. She can try to understand his frustration and get a better sense of what the root causes of these outbursts and his apathetic attitude are. Students wont learn from teachers they don't like and who don't respect them or value them. It is very clear that Ms. Wormwood views Calvin as a problem she believes there is no solution to and she treats him accordingly.
Calvin needs:
To see the relevance in life and in their world
To see the worth and value of content to be able to relate to it
More autonomy and choice in activities and assignments to challenge his mind
Stimulation that might differ from other students
Relevance of meaning in content to be emphasized in class
A sense of belonging
Ms. Wormwood can:
Use differentiation in her lesson planning to give Calvin what he needs in the classroom
Get to know Calvin and build a rapport with him
Ask Calvin questions about himself
Talk to him about things that aren't related to school
Encourage Calvin to make friends with his classmates
Ask Calvin what he doesn't like about school
Be mindful of his answers when lesson planning
Relate classwork to how it can apply to the "real world"
Have a one on one conversation when Calvin acts inappropriately without condescension
Examples:
In this example Ms. Wormwood could have responded to Calvin by acknowledging that his ability to recite the superhero origins is valuable but that she is looking for a different answer. By dismissing him she made Calvin feel as though he doesn't have value, which reinforced his motivation pattern.
In this example Ms. Wormwood could have explained how the course content relates to things he will run into in real life. By losing her temper she antagonized herself which only exasterbates their conflict.
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