Richard: NCLB Hits Home

The first two things I learned about special education were: 1) to be explicit in instruction and directions and 2) to create a culture of success for my students. I’ve learned those things are much easier said than done.

I started the school year believing my students were no more than two grade levels behind, based on their Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) scores, and I created my lessons accordingly. I provided common accommodations such as shorter reading passages, read-aloud tests, advance organizers, and as many graphics as possible.

After weathering many meltdowns and shutdowns, I looked at my para in utter confusion. I could not understand what was setting my students off. I had evaluated the incidents and looked at antecedents, behaviors, and student expectations, and I failed to find a common theme.

I decided to take aside one of my students, Bryan, and finally get to the bottom of why he shut down at least twice a day, taking at least 30 minutes to come back “on-line.” When an opportunity arose, I asked him what was wrong, and he reported that he just didn’t like the subject that day (even though he said he loved it on the first day). So I went to back over my lessons to try to make things more interesting for him.

The second time I asked, Bryan finally told me that he was lost. He didn’t understand the words I used or the book we used. He said I wrote too fast on the board and he writes slow and didn’t want the other kids knowing. On top of that, he is very sensitive of his speech impediment.

I thought to myself: If you would have just told me this from day one, you wouldn’t have been so miserable the past two weeks! Alas, he is 11 and like most 11-year-olds, he does not like to ask potentially embarrassing questions.

I gave Bryan a few diagnostic tests and discovered he read fluently at a 1.5 and could get through a 2.3 with some time and effort. I also discovered he had little skill in writing, could add whole numbers but not with decimals, and could subtract only whole numbers without zeros. He was terrified of decimals and fractions, and he was clueless about multiplication and division.

After I overcame my absolute awe at how this student made it all the way to sixth grade without developing any of these skills, I set to work obtaining as many resources as I could for him. I researched books on tape, writing strategies, and math strategies, and I went through my closet full of math manipulates. I was determined to get Bryan to improve his writing, do basic math, and increase his reading skills — regardless of the standards the state of Georgia felt he should be focusing on.

I discussed my plan with my principal and was given the green light to deviate from standards long enough to give Bryan the skills to at least follow along with grade level, even if he couldn’t quite master it yet. But as I began to request materials from leadership, I was surprised at how the great “process” got in the way of obtaining the things this student needed for success.

After a few conversations with colleagues, I realized that while we teachers are expected to provide a culture of success, we are not always given the necessities to do so. It was the great No Child Left Behind issue, on the classroom scale instead of nationally. I quickly became so frustrated and angry that I was near the point of demonstrating the same behaviors my students do.

After I was calmed down by my mentor, I realized that just as schools have to be creative to meet the requirements of NCLB, I would have to be even more creative to help my students. In this spirit, I have decided to use more videos than books, to provide notes with limited blanks for students to use, and to extend the time I spend on a troublesome topic to best help them.

Have you all had similar experiences doing more with less? If so, what cool tricks have you used?

Comments

[Stephanie]

I love how passionate you are about your students! It's the most important thing to have in order to be a successful teacher. My limited experience has shown me how vital it is to get to know your students, on a personal level. But when you work with older students, it's harder to break into their inner selfs, for some cases. Also, when you think you've done everything to accommodate and teach to your students and they still are not understanding, it can really make you feel like a failure. But you never giving up and reaching out to make sure your students needs are being met are qualities that make for the best teachers students can have. Keep it up, keep trying, and keep the passion for students and you'll be successful! Good luck to you :)

[Rashed Alqahtani]

Hi Richard
I really admire your passion about your students. What students with disabilities need is a teacher like you, so keep up the hard work. I really understand how frustration it is when have the willing to help your students and being hindered by the regulations that were supposed to be in your side. However, I've read recently that there are a lot of requests are raised by districts asking to have waives from some certain requirements that are mandated by NCLB in order to be apply to better serve students' needs. In fact, requests of almost 34 states have been accepted. what I might suggest for you to use with your students in terms of providing him with the support he needs is that, you have to increase his motivation to learn what he is supposed to learn. In fact, reading is built upon two concepts which are that possessing skills needed for reading and having the willingness to read (Cambria & Guthrie, 2010). Therefore, increasing your student's motivation to read may the key you need to increase his reading performance. This can be done using some concepts that suggested by CORI such as using thematic unit, giving choices, and so forth.

Best regards

References:
Cambria, J.,& Guthrie, J. T.(2010). Motivation and engaging students in reading. NERA Journal, 46(1), 16.

[Turki Alzahraney]

Hi Richard, this has to be a very frustration situation, but I loved your passion about your students and how you tried to find different teaching methods to teach them what they need to know. I am student teaching right now in an elementary school. I would like to share with you my experience while teaching my students in one reading class and describe what teaching methods were effective during the lesson and what were not effective. During the reading lesson, I used different reading methods with my students including modeled reading, cloze reading, think aloud, silent reading, and rereading strategy. The cloze procedure for reading and silent reading were the most effective reading methods for my students. In the cloze reading method, I was stopping frequently while reading and asking students to complete a word or sentence that followed. This helped me to make sure that the students were following along with me. In the silent reading method, I was giving the students enough time to read independently a paragraph and then asked them prompting questions for the graphic organizer. In using this method, I asked the students to thump up when they finish reading and reread the paragraph again if a student finishes early. This method helped me to use the rereading strategy as well as discovering the student who can comprehend what he/she read by answering some comprehension questions.
On the other hand, using the graphic organizer was not an effective teaching method in my lesson. While reading, I stopped reading every 1-2 paragraphs to think aloud some part of the graphic organizer we had already read. I recorded my thoughts under the doc camera. Then, students recorded my thinking on their own sheet of the graphic organizers. This method was not effective because while I was writing my thoughts on the graphic organizer under the doc camera, I misspelled some words, such as tordanos for tornado, which confused students and caused them to get off task towards the middle of the lesson. This event led me to decide that if I want to use the graphic organizer again with students and I am unfamiliar with some words’ spelling, I would check these words before writing them on the board or the graphic organizer under the doc camera. This can be achieved by using paper written activities prior to class or using a program with spellcheck for immediately correction during the lesson.

[Angela Thomas]

Hi Richard,

I love your passion about your students and teaching them what they need to know. It is refreshing to hear how you are in a constant state of trying to figure out what lesson style will work. I especially like the note-taking assistance accommodation.

I work with a private school and the teachers refuse to do beyond minimal accommodations(when more is required) to explore a student's ability to be successful. My goal is to change their attitudes to be more open to going beyond their personal beliefs about interventions and strategies used in the classroom.Since we receive no federal funding we are not required to have a 504 committee, where a lot of this could be addressed; I have to do what I can with the present situation.

You are the teacher that every parent and students dreams of!The goal of the teacher should be to help the students reach their goals.

Peace be with you always!

Angela

[Ashley]

I agree that NCLB has had a rough impact on our educational system, especially for the students who are not at grade level. Some of my students are reading at a 4 when, according to their peers, they should be reading at a 50-60. A strategy that my cooperating teacher and I are using is Read Naturally. This is not a curriculum but it is a supplemental reading strategy that will work with fluency as well as comprehension. Students will do a “cold read” to the teacher, read with the CD 3 times, practice reading on their own, and finally a “hot read” to the teacher. The “cold read” and “hot read” are recorded on a chart to show progress from the first time they read the story to the last. There are 24 stories at each level which gives the student enough time to master each one. This program may help your student become more confident in reading as well as improve his fluency and reading abilities.
I believe building a student’s confidence and enjoyment of a subject area are important to his/her success as well as building a solid relationship between yourself and the student. When the student feels confident, enjoys the subject, and has a good relationship with his/her teacher, the student will be more likely to continue trying, even when the reading levels get harder or when the math problems get tougher. Praise Bryan when he does well with a word, sentence, story, problem, math fact etc. Bringing Bryan’s confidence back up may help with his behaviors and academic performance.
I agree with Alyse, that using tactile, kinesthetic, auditory, and visual techniques to enhance learning will help your student learn the material. Enhance the lesson with repetition of content through multiple modalities. Have the student act out a word problem in math or a story in reading with another student. Show the difference in weight with 10 pennies compared to 50 pennies. Use manipulatives for him to work through a problem with his hands while you read the story/problem to him.
Good luck with him and any other students you have!

[Alyse]

This has to be a very frustration situation. I know in a lot of classes we have talked about different ways students learn and how you need to accommodate that into your lesson plans. One of the reading classes especially talked a lot about auditory, visual, tactile and kinesthetic approaches. Many students don't just learn from seeing or doing but they also need to hear and feel the material that they are doing. I recently read an article called, "Learning-Style Responsive Approaches for Teaching Typically Performing and At-Risk Adolescents" by Andrea Honigsfeld and Rita Dunn. The topic of this article was very interesting to me and it did a lot of breaking down of the reasons why students are at-risk and who is at-risk. I think this article would be very helpful to you and in helping you open your mind to suggestions and theories of how students learn and how to teach them. In my teaching math in elementary school class, our teacher talked about making sure students know the material instead of just moving on when your lesson is over. I think this is a very crucial point in special education because students may not tell you and then will not learn the next topics because they are all interrelated.

[Morgan]

This is a frustrating situation. It's interesting that even though you were given permission from your principle to work on these skills with this student, you still faced obstacles in implementing this instruction. However, this situation does portray the common concerns about NCLB in a very realistic way. I have faced similar situations with students who are behind. Sometimes it seems as if the goal of the system has shifted from helping students master necessary skills, to watching students blend in with their peers by minimally meeting standards without comprehension. This is disappointing, and I'm interested to see what tricks others have used in similar situations.

[Kathleen]

I am student teaching right now in a high school setting. I have a student that I can't find the right activity to do with him either. We use a lot of different things with him and some will work and some will not. After reading this, I understand that it might be the same situation. I have had to break down some of the lessons from the 9th or 10th grade level down to a 4th or 5th grade level sometimes to help some of my students understand what is going on.
Also, in classes in the past, we learn so much about NCLB but never exactly how to prevent students from slipping through the education system. Personally, not sure how to stop it, but some of the suggestions are helpful. As a teacher for the future, I think we are going to have to become more creative to make sure students do pass the requirements. From my encounters with students, they are becoming more dependent on technology for communication and resources that sometimes can be a problem.

[Leighann]

I, like Carissa, am going to begin my student teaching soon. I agree with what she is saying about how the strategies listed gave me some things to think about in order to be proactive when preparing myself for my student teaching experience. I will file these away and remember them when I am faced with a similar situation. Like Jesse, I have worked with students who seem to get it one day and the next day seem completely lost. It not only worried me, but it made me feel like a failure, because I thought they were doing so good, and all of a sudden they were regressing. I had a few moments of second guessing myself and my teaching, but then I realized that it does no good to second guess. Instead I have to be proactive and try new and different techniques to reach the child. I have to be willing to go outside of the box in order to best help my student to learn. NCLB has been largely discussed in my education, and I know that I will have to work twice as hard in order to help my children learn what they need to while helping them work towards the standards they must meet. This is where I will need to dig deep and be innovative if I want to help my students become successful. Thank you for sharing your story. It has given me much to think about as I go into this next chapter of my teaching journey.

[Mary]

Richard, I retired from teaching in Hartford, Connecticut, a poor urban city. Over my 30 years I had many students like you have described.

Never stop looking for the key for each student, when you find it you will change a life. I am designing curriculum material you may find useful for your population at
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Old-School-Works

My products have the modifications and accommodations you may be searching for.

Don't give up, talk to your support teacher. I was a mentor to new teachers, student teachers and master's interns. I know how important it is for you to have someone to share your frustrations with.

Mary

[Caitlin]

While reading the first part of your blog it made me think of similar situation I had with a student while I was student teaching. Going through that experience made me realize that it is best to talk to the student to figure out what is really going on and where they are at ability wise. A lot of student are sometimes embarassed about having a disability and so it is hard for them to realize that the activies you have planned for them are beneficial for them.

[Alyssa]

I found your phrase of "If you would have just told me this from day one, you wouldn’t have been so miserable the past two weeks!" very interesting. This is a prime example of why self advocacy is so important for students to learn. As a teacher you can only do so much based off of things that you THINK you know. You can put hours into planning a whole activity and have to cancel it or miss out on key parts just because a student doesn't like something or gets set off by something. Not everyone has the power to communicate so easily about things they want and need, but we must teach our students to do that (something not in directly stated in the standards). Remember to teach your kids to take charge of their lives, and their learning, by understanding how they learn things best, and then having them share that information with others! Otherwise, keep doing all you can to find the way to best teach to each student.

[Jesse James]

I am currently student teaching right now. I can relate to how you explained students shutting down with little to no reasoning in your mind. I have worked with many students who seem to understand the material one day, but the next day they are unable to, or just not willing to work. At first I was utterly confused, until I really began to look at the students. Simple things like facial expressions, movement, and just the feel in the classroom can make a student shut down. I found by simply doing things to clear students frustrations, such as going outside and kicking a ball, coloring, or simply talking can go a long way. Granted this will take up time, but you can slowly reduce the amount of time allowed and come up with new ways students can deal with their frustrations.

[Nicole]

I will be student teaching in a few months as well, and like Carissa mentioned in her comment, I too have heard so much about NCLB in my classes. The problem remains, what to do with the students like yours, who fall through the cracks? How do we find the balance between following the standards and preparing for testing, while also trying to do what is best content-wise for the student? It's inspiring to hear you work so hard for your students and enlist the help of others to think of creative ways to maintain the balance.

[Rachael]

I have heard many different stories on how students are just pushed through the school systems without receiving any help, and it makes me wonder if teachers are really doing their job. Thank you for providing incite on recognizing a problem and doing something about it. The NCLB has been a big part of my learning the last couple of years getting prepared for student teaching this semester and I've seen how much it affects a teacher's life every single moment. Thank you for providing the techniques that you went about to help this student out, and for showing us that it takes trial and error to help our students.

[Carissa]

I am going to be student teaching in a few months. We read so much about NCLB and hear ways that things have changed and how to prevent children passing through without meeting standards, but we don't learn too much on how to work with children who have been passed up and aren't up to grade level. Some of what you listed as trying for Bryan helps me think more on how I can prepare to assist and help students in my future for student teaching and when I am applying to become a teacher in a year.

[Theresa]

I can relate to your frustration. In my classroom I utilize a lot of books on CD and we will spend a lot of time talking and discussing. Something else that I do is take the skill that we are supposed to be learning that week and teach it at a much simpler level. For example if the skill is cause and effect , instead of using the 4th grade materials I will find a 1st or 2nd grade activity on cause and effect. They're still practicing the same skill as their grade level peers. I've just modified it so they can be successful!