Lauren Madison
2/8/2023
1:35-3:10
Sequence of Events -
Students came in for sixth period and immediately started working on their journals for the day. Journal required us to watch a video and students to respond to guiding questions to help understand the content and how it relates to what we've been learning, students were then reading an interview where they spent the class responding to the interview content. This led us straight into chapter response questions for the rest of the class over the novel they've been reading.
Elaboration of One or Two Significant Episodes -
During the sixth hour, I had one student who was playing games on his laptop like he does every class, so I went up to him and asked him to please pay attention to the video because we are going to be using the material to answer questions and I'd rather not take away his Chromebook. Ms. Bleicher had originally told me that this student has had issues with watching pornographic material in class as well as searching up violent things that have led herself and the administration to believe he should not be allowed to have a Chromebook - valid. However, because most of the coursework involves Chromebooks he has one but if he abuses it we are meant to take it. After this occurred he agreed to watch the video but pulled out a novel and began to read it, when I went up to him he said he could listen to Ms. Bleicher talk and read with no comprehension issue. So, I asked him to walk me through what we'd talked about which he attempted but did not succeed in. I told him that I didn't want to have to take his books either but if he didn't start paying attention I would. He paid attention for the rest of the journal but when it was time to move into the interview reading and get on our Chromebooks he started playing games again. When I called him out on not working with the material and being where he was supposed to he told me my 'intelligence was scary,' I don't think he was aware his glasses had the reflection of his screen. I tried to come to an agreement where when he completed the question we were on he could play his game until we moved to the next. I was trying to work with his interests and make a goal he could work towards as his own reward which he seemed to like. up until his Chromebooks battery was low and he could no longer work this way because he didn't have his charger. This led him to stop doing his work and instead wander around the classroom asking whoever he could if he could borrow theirs. I knew nobody would so I got up and grabbed him a piece of paper while he attempted to find one. When he came back, chargerless, he laid his head on his laptop and refused to do the work so I told him we'd do it together. He claimed that he already had it done so I asked him to show me and then he started getting frustrated with me and telling me he didn't know the questions and couldn't answer them if he didn't have them. When I directed him to the board he got mad and told me he couldn't read that far so he couldn't do the work. At this point, Ms. Bleicher had taken his Chromebook from him to prevent him from wandering around again to look for a charger and I had to take away his two novels to keep him on task. As his agitation with me grew it became glaringly obvious he wasn't used to anyone really sitting beside him and keeping him on task. Ms. Bleicher had previously told me that the administration and herself had coined him as a "potential serial killer" so they all kept their distance and let him do his thing. I decided that the nice and relaxed approach wasn't one that would work for him so instead, I decided to be realistic with him. He told me he didn't enjoy this class and found it boring so he didn't want to do the work, I said that I thought he was an extremely intelligent individual and I found it sad he didn't want to apply himself to do the work because he was someone I could see being able to pursue any career he'd like. I told him that if he didn't start applying himself he was going to have to repeat the class until he could which was upsetting because he had the ability to pass the class with at least a B+ if he solely applied himself a bit. I asked him if it was not frustrating that Ms. Bleicher was surprised when he correctly answered questions or if it wasn't hurtful that his peers thought he was weird, and he told me he didn't care. As we continued working he continued to refuse to do his work, claiming that he'd done it already but didn't have the paper because he turned it in, so I told him that if he answered one of the chapter questions correctly he could continue drawing and listening, which in the absence of his Chromebook and novels he'd opted to do, I told Ms. Bleicher which one I expected him to answer and when the question came she called on him. He did get it correct and as promised I backed off and let him draw.
Analysis of Episodes -
I think this student has high intelligence and is bored because there's nothing challenging him as well as the material isn't anything of interest. I think because of this he is always on his Chromebook which has caused issues to arise regarding it and his searches. Because he is always on his Chromebook and not paying attention I think he kind of took it as a green flag to do whatever he'd like and not get called out on it because nobody wants to deal with it. While Ms. Bleicher is right about his behavior seeming a bit off, I've decided that today isn't going to be a one-and-done where I move on to another student to focus on tomorrow, instead, I'm going to make it a point to be checking up on him and ensuring he's on task and reminding him that I do have expectations set for him, just like I do for every student, and I will be holding him to them and helping him meet them every day. My expectations for him are not unobtainable, just simply doing his work and engaging in class content to the best of his ability, but I just feel like it's important for him to feel seen because I think that he needs to be treated less like an outsider and more like a human being who is included. I think he has some level of respect for me and if I can build up that respect maybe I can find ways to present more challenging material and find a way to keep him engaged than I can make some really good process with him.