Getting Through to Uriel

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Getting Through to Uriel A Drama in Several
Acts Dramatis Personae (Cast of
Characters) URIEL, a fifth grade student at
Weemes Elementary School struggling against his
tendency toward outbursts at inappropriate
times MS. O, Uriels resourceful, patient
teacher MS. U, a teacher struggling with a
similar problem who kindly produced an article
about methods of dealing with such students DR.
D, an education psychologist and expert on
developmental psychology STEVEN JONES, an
observer in Ms. Os classroom
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• Prologue
• In the summer of 2005, I spent two weeks
  observing a fifth-grade classroom at Weemes
  Elementary School. During that time, I found
  myself drawn to one student in particular. His
  intellect was impressive, his behavior was all
  over the map, and his name was . . . Uriel.
• What follows is my attempt to chronicle the
  challenges that Uriel and his teacher faced, as
  well as my quest for a solution that would suit
  all parties.

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Act I

• My Notes and Observations
• All of what follows represents firsthand research
  I conducted during my two-week investigation into
  the matter of Uriel and his journey in search of
  knowledge.

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My Notes Academic

• A fascinating mixed bag
• During a writing exercise, he finishes one
  paragraph (of a three-paragraph minimum) and
  declares himself done, doesnt want to go over it
  in any way
• When called on during a grammar lesson, he
  quickly and confidently gives the right answer
• His multiplication paper is a nightmare half of
  them arent answered, but those that he did
  answer are correct

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My Notes - Behavioral

• Entropy in Action
• - During a moment she takes to write down an
  answer, Uriel starts arm-wrestling his neighbor
• The class has to be silent for a minute to be let
  out to recess Uriel still cant help himself
  from making noise
• During a test on state capitals, everyone else is
  silent but Uriel fidgets and talks manages to
  fling his pen from the desk, still cant sit
  butt-down in char, but works intently

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My Notes Teachers Response

• Tolerance to a point
• Uriel seems to have the freedom to wander around
  as long as hes not disruptive
• cant resist shouting out but the teacher merely
  presses on maybe he gets a free pass because
  hes engaged and enjoying himself?
• Uriels table is asked to leave because they keep
  distracting he is sent to Mr. Wandrick with the
  promise of push-ups to come

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Act II

• Learning From the Experts
• These notes come from various related articles,
  as well as my observation of specific tactics
  used by the valiant Ms. O.

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Expert Opinions

• Most public schools feature behaviorist
  approaches aimed at rewarding good behavior and
  punishing bad behavior. (Ulluchi)

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Assertive Discipline

• Teacher control teacher sets all boundaries and
  escalating consequences
• Constant praise for students who behave well,
  constant discipline for poor behavior
• Student behavior tracked publicly for all to see
  (Ulluchi)

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Assertive Discipline Cons

• Doesnt affect changes in behavior only
  provides momentary relief
• Short-term, immediate affect no long-term
  progress

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Solution 1 Picking Your Battles

• Ms. Os example Uriel seems to have the freedom
  to wander around as long as hes not disruptive
  to others
• Ms. Us advice Cannot control every action
  focus on those that are truly disruptive

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Solution 2 Focus on positives

• Ms. Os example Praising Uriel when he improved
  his behavior, letting him know he had erased some
  past misdeeds
• Ms. Us advice Find something that each student
  can do well so they can escape the problem
  child label

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Solution 3 Find Joy at School

• Ms. Us Example, Part 1 Andre excelled at
  building, so Ms. U turned to him when something
  needed crafting or repairing
• Ms. Us Example, Part 2 Raf, her other problem
  child, doted on his younger sister he was
  inserted in a kindergarten class to read to the
  younger kids

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Act III

• The Unexplored Path
• Another Method that Could Have Worked for Uriel

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Problem-Solving Conversation (PSC)

• A four-step conversational method able to work
  across divisions of age, SES, and gender to help
  children who have been involved in some kind of
  problem think about their actions and learn from
  their experiences (Dwairy)

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Step 1 Understanding the Child

• The conversation should start with the adult
  acknowledging the incident with a statement like
  I heard . . . and following it up with one such
  as I would like to know what really happened.
  The adult should use open-ended questions and
  give the child all the time they need to respond.
  This establishes a non-accusatory bond of trust.

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Step 2 Probing Reevaluation of the Event

• The adult should then ask the child in an
  open-ended manner to share their feelings about
  the event, with questions like Are you satisfied
  with the results?

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Step 3 Exploring Alternatives and Making a New
Plan

• In this step, the adult can ask the child What
  do you think you should do? and ask for a
  detailed plan to prevent any repetition of the
  problem

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Step 4 Setting the Relationship and Follow-Up

• The adult and child now come to an agreement as
  to how the child will take steps to ensure they
  hold up their end of the bargain, including
  arranging a follow-up meeting to monitor the
  childs progress

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Act IV

• A Proposal
• In which observer Steven prescribes his own
  method of dealing with a child like Uriel

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What I Would Take From Ms. O

• Tolerance for Uriels outbursts and willingness
  to look the other way in some instances (a la Ms.
  U)
• Understanding that his problem was an excess of
  enthusiasm, not malice
• Giving him the chance to redeem past mistakes

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How I Would Implement PSC

• Any behavior that disrupted others would merit a
  follow-up conversation
• A specific behavior contract with rules and
  consequences chosen by Uriel himself
• Regular discussions about how things are going
  (not just after a flare-up) (Alexandrin)

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New Ideas I Would Implement

• Giving Uriel an extra responsibility as classroom
  helper, assistant during some lessons
• Extra, creative assignments that would allow him
  to positively channel his energy and imagination
  (Alexandrin)

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Works Cited

• Alexandrin, Julie Richmond. Using Continuous,
  Constructive Classroom Evaluations. Teaching
  Exceptional Children, Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 52-57,
  September/October 2003.
• Dwairy, Marwin. Using Problem-Solving
  Conversation With Children. Intervention in
  School and Clinic, Vol. 40, No. 3, pp. 144-150,
  January 2005.
• Ulluchi, Kerri. Picking Battles, Finding Joy
  Creating Community in the Uncontrolled
  Classroom. Multicultural Education, Vol. 12,
  No. 3, pp. 41-44, Spring 2005.