January 4, 2011

Domain 4: Rights and Responsibilities
9:30 a.m.

There is one particular child in my class that frequently has behavior problems. Although he is very bright, he often throws fits, talks out of turn, and acts much younger than the other students in his class. His behavior is very unusual and the other children in his class often notice it. When talking to my cooperating teacher, she mentioned to me that they had had several case conferences for this child, but were unable to have any sort of conclusions because she had not had enough documentation. Also, because she takes care of behavior issues herself rather than sending children to the principal. When he was observed by another school personnel, it was only for half an hour and the child was aware of being observed. Because I have seen this behavior and I am spending a majority of my time observing this week, I offered to keep an anecdotal record of him over the next week. I have been documenting when he pays attention and when he doesn't, his outbursts, talking out of turn, being on task and off task, and really any other behavior.
I think this is an important aspect of teaching, while obviously I cannot keep detailed records of each of my students, I must learn to document unusual behavior or really any behavior that can be useful in better teaching my students. While I understand why schools cannot just place students under certain classifications without proof or testing, there is a lot required of teachers to help students who may desperately need it. I also think this will be helpful in my future planning for N, because I will hopefully be more aware of his behavior patterns and know how he responds best.