Case Eleven Synthesis – For Jim Stockman
Educators value and care for all students and act in their best interests.
The educator in the case, Mrs. DiLucca, believes in inclusion in her teaching practice. However, she is concerned in providing the best support for two particular students: Sue, a category A fully dependent student new to her class, and George, a student requiring LAC support daily and in need of further assessments. Sue is disruptive in class and Mrs. DiLucca wants to “meaningfully” include her in the classroom. George is aggressive and defiant and she questions whether or not if the current arrangements are fair to not only him but the rest of the class. Mrs. DiLucca’s strive for improving support for these two students, while considering the rest of her students shows she cares about the overall wellbeing of her classroom.
Educators value the involvement and support of parents, guardians, families and communities in schools.
Collaboration and planning meetings are imperative in developing a support plan for students. Mrs. DiLucca has to deal with a lot of conflicting perspectives when it comes to Sue and George. In Sue’s case, the father is resentful of the health care system which he believes failed his daughter. The mother is mostly concerned for her social wellbeing. Both parents felt comfortable enough to consult Mrs. DiLucca on whether or not Sue would benefit in a private institution. George’s parents believe he is just a “kid being a kid” and don’t think it is necessary for him to have assessments done.
As challenging as it is when dealing with parents with different perspectives, educators must be professional and cordial. Parent involvement in student learning plan/individual education plan meetings are crucial as they provide the background information. They also can report on behaviour outside school settings and are most familiar with their child’s likes and dislikes. Their input is just as important as other school based team members.
Educators implement effective practices in areas of planning, instruction, assessment, evaluation and reporting.
Mrs. DiLucca questions her current strategies with both Sue and George; she believes them to be ineffective as she is not seeing any progress in their behaviours. Sue continues to be disruptive in class and it seems she has hit a “brick wall” with George in trying to get further support for him. To further investigate the case, we were required to role play a support plan meeting for either Sue or George. We found that assessments were a major consideration in developing support plans. In Sue’s case, communication tools had been introduced for both home and school use. The purposes of these support plans are ultimately for setting realistic, effective goals to be achieved over a period of time. If the goal is unattainable or would require a much longer period of time, it should not be considered at all. Follow ups of these meetings are imperative to document progress and to re-examine goals that have not quite been met.
Educators engage in career-long learning.
In order to keep up with the shifting educational landscape, educators would benefit in ongoing professional development. In the case, SETBC (Special Education Technology British Columbia) have offered support for family and educators involved with Sue. As an educator who is new to having a student like Sue, it would be prudent for Mrs. DiLucca to take part in as much training and collaboration. Her current strategies seem to be ineffective so the consultations with other school based team members allow her to develop new approaches. Mrs. DiLucca also appears to be reflective in her teaching practice. Career long learning cannot take place if one does not acknowledge their own strengths and weaknesses in their teaching practice.
Teacher Regulation Branch standards retrieved from: http://www.bcteacherregulation.ca/documents/AboutUs/Standards/edu_stds.pdf