Field Assignment 2: Voices of Diversity Student Case Study

            To help myself develop as a professional by learning from a specific student, I conducted an interview with Bri, a student whom I regularly work with at my part time job at an afterschool program. At this point I have known Bri for several months and have interacted with her in several settings and on many occasions. What I wanted to know from her was what her school day was like, how it differed from that of general education students, and what her general education teachers were doing to help her find success.

Bri was born with Spastic Cerebral Palsy, which contributes to her academic struggles as a freshman in high school. People with Spastic Cerebral Palsy have what is known as a neuromuscular mobility impairment. In Bri’s case, she has limited control over the use of muscles on the left side of her body. This is most apparent in her slanted smile and severe limp. Bri’s disabilities extend beyond her physical limitations.  Her learning disability has made her enrollment in general education courses a struggle.  Therefore, several modifications have been made.

            Through a formal interview Bri told me her daily routine.  She wakes at 5:30. Though school is not for another two hours, she has a meticulous routine which needs to be attended to daily. She takes her pill and then waits an hour before she can eat. During that wait time, she prepares her school bag and snack. Usually her mother is still sleeping at this time. By the time her pill’s one hour grace period has ended, she has a half hour to eat and tie up any loose ends to make the bus in time for school at seven. At school, Bri’s course schedule is as follows: English, Math, Science, Transitions, Lunch, Choral, Support Study, and Math Concepts. She explained Math Concepts to me as a class where she goes to work on the work that she was taught in her general education math class. Transitions is a class that students with disabilities are enrolled in to help in making career planning choices. And Support Study is basically an open study hour with aids to assist with school work. She informed me that at times Transitions too is also like an supported study hall. My interpretation is that Bri has three general education courses at the start of her day, English, Math and Science, and the remainder of the day is reserved for courses to help with those, life planning, and an elective. She understands that her course load is different than many other students’. She understands that she has special needs which need to be met in order for her to find success in school and in life; A result of her disabilities.

            At the end of the school day, Bri is released from class 5-10 minutes before her peers.  Because of her disability, she walks slower than others and needs the accommodation to catch the bus before it departs. A short bus ride brings her to the afterschool program that I have had the pleasure of working with her at. From 2:30 to 6:00, after every day of school, Bri comes to our non-profit program for students who live in government subsidized housing for low income families. On a rare occasion, Bri will have completed all of her homework during school, but more commonly, she takes from school 1-2 hours of additional work, daily. Between myself, my co-workers (educated young men and women with degrees in social work, psychology and education) and the several pursuing educators who volunteer at the facility, Bri is utilizes a very resourceful program to help her to find success in school and in life.  

Though Bri’s high school experience is different than many of her peers’ experiences, she is not restricted from leading a happy, healthy lifestyle. Other students at MSHS are very nice to her, so much that she was on the homecoming court in her first year of high school.  She never feels threatened by her school mates and could not recall a recent incident where she had been bullied by another kid at school. Bri’s positive outlook on her education and her overall happy character helps disguise the struggles she faces on a daily basis in Math, Science and English, a core curriculum designed for students with higher abilitiesBri is fortunate that she has the support system she has. Between the special education courses she is enrolled in at school, the special attention she receives at the afterschool program, and the particular attention her general education teachers designate to accommodate for her needs, she finds success in school.

            Working with Bri has opened my eyes to a world within education that was previously unknown to me. She mentioned that often times the requirements for large assignments in her general education courses are minimalized from what is required from other students. I would be interested in shadowing her throughout a day at school. Often times she is assigned writing assignments that are way out of the realm of her capabilities. For example, she was to write a 500-700 word proposal of any topic for her English class. When she sat down to tackle the assignment, she began to express how much she hated writing essays. In reviewing some of her work, I have found that she writes on a 2^nd-3^rd grade level.  She is in a 9^th grade English class. So I wonder how her teacher goes about grading the work that she turns in, because it does not seem as if the teacher is modifying the assignment for Bri. I anticipate she must be grading it with a different rubric.

            When it comes to students with special needs, it is the teacher’s responsibility to thoroughly understand the IEP, the necessary accommodations and modifications, and to be on a personal level with those students as much as or more than the other students. I believe if Bri’s English teacher were to ask her questions about the assignments after they were submitted, she would discover that the general requirements are causing her a great deal of stress, so much that, on a rare occasion, she slips into a temper tantrum. The difficulties of the assignments are debilitating her writing skills from progressing. If the modifications for the assignments were proactive, Bri would be able to work through writing assignments more collectively and be able to produce better writing and show more progress.  As with any student, communication is the key to the door which allows students to succeed within a class. For students with special needs, that emphasis for positive communication is exponentially significant.