Teacher Do You Care- The Pete Chronicles

Tough day for Pete

His teacher allowed him return to his work-study job. I bumped into him as he was walking off campus with his class. We exchanged a high five. He did not attend last week because of his behavior. We talked about it all everyday, Pete really wanted to attend this week.



A little later in the hour, I received a call from Pete’s teacher and she informed me that he was sent back to campus from his job. According to his teacher, he started his cartoon scripts as soon as he started work. She said she wanted to give him a chance but she could not have him laughing and repeating. After the work incident Pete was to attend my class.

Needless-to-say he was persistent about his self-soothing (his cartoon phrasing) and it took a while to try and reconnect with him. Staff was short today and many students needed extra help. I did my best. Pete did not shout out in my class today. He did say his cartoon phrase to himself a few times while I was trying to talk to him. Each time I asked for his attention he gave it to me and he took my direction.



The struggle of transition before a break in school is typical. This is often the story with students that struggle. The students crave the structured environment of school. Structure is safe and unstructured time and activity is unpredictable. I suppose Pete deep down knew he would be spending many hours with the television, no phone calls to friends or contact with others. I hope I am wrong.



I’ll send him a postcard or two to let him know he is not alone.

Teacher Do You Care- The Pete Chronicles

Today, Pete got a D on a spelling test in another class and an F on last week’s test. He disrupted that class and was sent out several times. When Pete comes to my class, I check in with him to see how his morning went in his other classes. This morning, Pete told me about the poor spelling test. I asked him how he felt about getting a poor grade. He was stared to repeat the cartoon phrases he uses but he stopped to answer me. He said he did not feel good about it. I asked him if it was possible that he interrupted the class because he felt bad about the test. He listened. I reminded him about sharing his feelings and suggested he could share how he felt with his morning teacher. He was willing to do so.

When we went to see his teacher, Pete was nervous and started to repeat the cartoon phrase that brings him solace. I helped him stay clam and he told his teacher how he felt. His teacher quickly dismissed his feelings and gave him a motive of wanting to disrupt the class. Ouch!!! I asked Pete to walk away while I spoke to his teacher.



Do I blame this teacher? No, this teacher represents the cycle of overburden, untrained people. Where is the compassion for this boy?

Go where the love is Pete. He had another great day in my class! We worked on his spelling words together and he practiced expressing his feelings. I’m proud of him.

Teacher Do You Care?

A student in my class has been struggling over the last month. The student (I’ll call him Pete) yells out lines from a cartoon show, coughs excessively, and laughs in a hysterical cartoon voices during instruction. The other students’ educational progress is disrupted. The home teacher for the student tried a couple of things to try to help his behavior in my class. These interventions were not what I would have done and were just as disruptive as the behavior.

I refused the help offered from the other teacher and personally sat down to get to know Pete. I found out more about a young man who spends all of his home time alone. He’s no child; he is a teenager, and he needs interactions with others. He has no friends and no phone calls. His pal is television and the laughs it has to offer.
Pete has not disrupted my class since I took over his behavior problem. One day he was upset about being hot after a morning of PE and not receiving water after he asked once. We should teach him self-advocacy.



Another day he missed a planned activity because of his behavior and he felt bad about it. He does not share his feelings with others. We should teach him how to communicate his needs and desires.

On the last day of the week he was mad at his single mom. Sometimes when I work with students I know God is present because things will come out of my mouth that are inspirational and just what a kid needs to hear. That’s what happened in this situation.

I taught Pete about being grateful and expressing gratitude.
“Have you ever told Mom how much you appreciate everything she does?”
He said, “no.”
“I think you should try it tonight when she comes home,” I suggested.
“Have you ever told Mom you love her?”
“No,” he said.
“I think you should try that too,” I suggested.
Then I mirrored his experience back to him.
“Your mom works long hours, comes home, makes you dinner, makes sure you have a shower and gets you to bed. Those actions are love. Pete you are well taken care of and you are lucky.”



Pete nodded. I don’t know if he got it. I will encourage Pete to live in this world not the cartoon world he has created to connect. I care.

How many Pete’s are struggling in the educational system? If you notice a Pete in your life stop, listen and show you care.

Stanley Greenspan: Inspiration for an Educational Revolution

May 3rd 2010

Dr. Stanley Greenspan died this week; he was a great man. His official webpage described him as: “Stanley I. Greenspan, M.D., is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at George Washington University Medical School and Chairman of the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders. The world’s foremost authority on clinical work with infants and young children with developmental and emotional problems, his work has guided parents, professionals and researchers all over the world.”

Dr. Greenspan taught me new ways to teach struggling students. I first met him six years ago when a parent suggested his training course. When I heard him teach the Developmental Individual-difference Relationship Model (DIR), bells and whistles went off in my head on how to teach non-typical learners. His model examines the student in the areas of home life, biomedical profile, sensory profile, and emotional development. This model gave me the additional inroads to students and knowledge of how and when to offer new areas of support. I used Dr. Greenspan’s work as a framework for teaching. This was the beginning of my educational revolution.

When I call for an educational revolution, I am not proposing that teachers know every aspect of a student’s home life, biomedical profile, sensory profile, and emotional development. What I am stating is that creating a relationship with your students and having some knowledge of their home life is important in building educational success primarily with low achieving and struggling learners. The fact that a student chews on his or her pencil or gets up ten times to throw out a piece of paper provides information about how calm their body is or is not in the educational setting. If a student is not creating ideas independently, he or she could have challenges in emotional development. With the use of this model, test scores and lives will flip in a positive direction.


This is the first line of defense I choose to fight, teaching struggling students how to engage learning to be successful well-rounded citizens. For example, three families contacted me in the last two weeks to ask for help with their children’s education in public school. One was an AP student with auditory processing, another an Asperger’s student with an accommodation (504) plan and lastly, a student who left public school for private school only to find out he was not understood there either. The tools I learned from Dr. Greenspan assisted these struggling learners in ways others tools did not. Regardless of the area of educational reform (privatization, standardized test scores, disempowerment of teachers, or corporate influence) the struggling learner is demanding our attention, and focusing on the struggling learner is necessary to make change.

It's a Wonder I Stayed In Public Education!

When I was a new teacher, I wanted to find the key to unlocking success within my students. My desire was to teach them how to become learners. So, I start breaking down the parameters on how students learn. I wanted to know where my students fell off the beam.

Starting with the psychologist, I asked questions. I wanted to know what could I do in the classroom for the processing deficits of my students. I received blah, blah answers that sounded like the teacher’s voice on Charlie Brown.

I was not satisfied, somewhere, someone was trying to lessen these problem for challenged learners; I wanted to be part of the solution. I still needed to learn more about everything, I found educational areas of innovation and best practice. I turned no idea down I was open to learning.

This upset some of my colleagues. Why? I have no idea. Rocking the boat. Doing too much.
Of course, when I wanted to create, utilize innovation and attend conferences or workshops I had to go to the ADMINISTRATION. The administration makes decisions about taking time off work, what fund a substitute teacher’s pay is allocated and registration fees before attendance or implementation takes place. Like Hollywood, I have to go pitch my idea and plan of action. Well, I’ve had some pitches go well and some let’s just say you be the judge.

I've been told many things throughout the years. Here are a few are actual statements from ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF:
• That's great, we don't have money for that
• That's great, ask Title I to pay for it
• Ok we will pay your sub but not the conference, hotel, material, etc
• Sorry there is no money
• Why are you doing this?

With these kinds of responses it’s a wonder why I continued on. I did continue on and over 90% of my training and expertise in education has come from my own resources. Yes, my own pocket. The school system did not care how much of my own money I spent as long as they were not spending it. Here’s a question for you. How many teachers today are updated on best practices in education?

Not many. If the teacher is waiting for the school to pay, they can keep waiting. Don’t believe me ask your kid’s teacher the last conference, innovative lecture or new software training they have been to. The answer won’t be pretty in public school. How can we be better if we don’t use better tools and paradigms? Learn the learner; know the learner, teach the learners.

Living or Learning Problem: Do You Care?

Sometimes our kids have living problems not learning problems in education today. Life at times is so complicated. I grew up in simpler times. The students of today have many challenges to face: death, suicide, sexuality, drugs, alcohol, etc. Some kids have challenges just getting to school.

This week one of my most lethargic students warmed up to my class and me. He was a lump. I have tried to engage him in conversation,... nothing. He would sluggishly give me one-word answers to my questions. I’d ask about his life, nothing. Yes or no answers followed without affect or expression. How many months of school has it been? I was pulling out all my stops because I know through experience and research that a relationship is a starting point and cultivation for learning. I would put on my best face on day after day but each day he was ultra flat therefore, non-engaged. You can’t win them all right? Wrong because somehow, someway, something got to him. This week he was Mr. Delightful! I don’t know what turned it but it turned. He worked harder, made positive comments and became an asset to the classroom. Most likely he was having living problems not a learning problem.

According to Eutopia.com,” New America Media, a nationwide network of over 700 ethnic-media organizations, and the University of California’s Office of the President, conducted a survey of young people in California to better understand what young adults ages 16-22 feel are the primary issues impacting their lives.” http://www.edutopia.org/challenges-young-adults The study spoke with 601 young Californians. Here are the results of the survey as they reported in the study.

CALIFORNIA DREAMERS: A PUBLIC OPINION PORTRAIT
OF THE MOST DIVERSE GENERATION THE NATION HAS KNOWN
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_custom.html?custom_page_id=340
Fig. 1



In the graph young people identified family breakdown as the number one problem followed by violence in the neighborhood and poverty.

In another situation I was walking to the office and an educational assistant was having a disagreement with a middle school girl. I stopped and asked the educational assistant what seemed to be the problem. The assistant quickly let me know the girl refused to work and now was refusing to go to the dean. I volunteered to take her. I asked the young lady what was wrong. She blew me off with a simple nothing which means I’m not telling you, you don’t care. I implored her and then she exploded with a river of mind-blowing information. Her brother had been arrested for attempted murder and he was her caretaker. She had a mother but her brother is the one that cared for her. She knew he was in Long Beach but that’s all she knew and she was freaked out. I told her I’d be freaked out too. Then I said the thing that any of you would of said, “we can find him and you can write him a letter”. She melted with hope as tears filled her eyes. That’s all she needed was hope and help. We cannot have an educational system that is not human. Our souls have to touch the young people souls. We have to care about their lives. Is this our job? Who cares? If a kid needs you, step up. It may be a living problem they need help with not a learning problem.

Times Have Changed So Why Haven't We?

SO, it’s has been a week and no one is knocking my door down about the Educational Revolution. That’s ok because I can see from word of mouth that people believe in the Revolution and have not came together or had a voice to articulate exactly what the problem is as they are lead to freedom. This is a little melodramatic but it is very true.

We know that education is suffering in many ways. Education is suffering nationwide. More special need students are being identified all the time. Viable students are dropping out of school according to the America’s Promise Alliance. In April 2008, ABC World News segment ("Failing Grades," April 1) featured a report from America's Promise Alliance and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that showed 1.2 million students drop out of high school each year. This is a good jumping off place to start. The information we have is communicating something to us. We have to figure out the whys, hows and an action plan.

Last blog, I discussed how students could get behind and not really be noticed. I also stated a plan of action:
learning how to examine students developmentally, emotionally and physically; learning how to customize interventions to fit the students; and making this fabric part of our educational system. It would be revolutionary to utilize these practices.

The lack of understanding students to their core leads to a lack of vision in education. I’ll say it again, education lacks vision. This does not mean there not great things happening in education, do not get me wrong. There are wonderful programs, teachers and administrators that serve students well. What I’m talking about is the student that is not served well. This kind of student is growing in numbers by leaps and bounds. The student could look like one that ignores the teacher, sleeps in class, or just does not turn in work. The student could also look like the student who tries hard to please yet struggles anyway. The student could look like a reading disability that does not qualify for special education services. The student could look like many things. The disservice in education is that all are not getting what they need. It’s no one fault. They need too much for the current system to handle. That’s why we need a revolution.

Look, times are different and we have to change with the times. Our children are over exposed to stimuli. Input is constantly coming into the senses of people today: videos, ipods, text messages, computer screens, cell phones, etc. This upbeat of sensory heightens the system and the system craves for more. Kids in elementary and middle school are on video games, text messages and even Facebook!

Constantly, I hear kids saying they are bored. One student said it today as an excuse of why he drew an obscene picture! Students are not bored they are unregulated or unable to sit for periods of time without input. Am I over exaggerating? No. With the changing times, lack of real community, family time and bounding our children are being raised by the television and the media. How many moms or dads need a break and they put little Johnny in front of a movie or his favorite show, in which they TiVo'd for him! When the kid starts emulating the characters, speaking in gibberish or lost in fantasy thoughts we think something is wrong with the kid.

This form of thinking something is wrong with the kid permeates throughout education for those that struggle. Unlike mom and dad that start the ball rolling with too much media, teachers get what they get in a student. That student can come with a fertilized foundation for educational growth or with nothing but a blank slate somewhat ready to learn. Regardless, at sometime in the educational journey an educator, administrator and or parent starts to “victimize the victim” when the child is not learning and the interventions are not working.

The lack of understanding students to their core leads to a lack of vision in education. That’s why we need a revolution.