Case
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In my current internship, I am working in an SVE classroom at an ESE center. There is one classroom teacher, and she has two assistants. There is only one female student in the classroom. She is very bright, but has a VERY slow processing time. The aids have absolutely no patience for her. They constantly get annoyed and reprimand her for small things, but do not treat any of the other students like this. I have made it my personal goal to have a high tolerance level for her, and praise her as often as I can. My CT does not act this way toward her, but does not do anything about the attitudes of her assistants. I think she is afraid of disrupting the peace in the classroom. Does anyone have any suggestions for how this should be solved?

Posted on: 04/18/13 | Views: 1517
Solution #1
I would talk to the other aids. The teacher should let them know what her overall goal for this student was. Ultimately the teacher is in charge over her classroom and the aids need to comply to what she wants. Also, if you are praising this student and being patient with her you will have some kind of evidence that the student is doing well or some kind of improvement to show them that it works.

Your goal is to be there for your students and do what it takes for them. You are the teacher and you are on charge, I would clarify things with the aids. I would express my concerns for the student and ways that she can truly benefit from our help.

I agree with you. Talking to the other assistants and letting the teacher tell them her classrooms goals should help them understand the students needs more and will hopefully make them more tolerant.

I agree with your solution.

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Solution #2
Your personal goal is a thoughtful gesture to help meet your student's needs. In order for your efforts to really benefit the student, strategies should be consistent and pervasive. It sounds like the teachers should get together and really discuss the teacher behaviors that could or would promote specific desired student behaviors. It would be good to meet to weekly or every two weeks to see what strategies are working. If the student is frustrated or feels anxious, it could cause some anxiety. Perhaps you or your CT could design a lesson on the importance of having patience. Whenever an issue arises in my classroom, I look at things I can do differently to get different outcomes from my students. Everyone desires to be treated with respect, children too.
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Solution #3
I would pull one assistant aside and ask to have a friendly conversation with them. I gently imply that I have noticed that she does not treat the student in the same way as other. Then, I would simply ask why it is that she feels like the student is not doing what they are supposed to do. Because some conflict may be caused, I would be sure to say that you have the students' best interest in mind.

I think this is a great idea but possibly having one other person there. That way no accusations can be made about either party in this conversation.

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Solution #4
I think a conversation needs to happen between the teachers in the room--or, at the very least, between you and the teacher and then the teacher and the aides. Ideally, an open communication forum where all four of you could sit and talk would be best, but this isn't always possible in situations like these. The aids need to gain a little more patience with her and treat her as they treat the other students. Her slow processing time isn't her fault.
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Solution #5
Always provide an open line of communication. You should absolutely talk to the assistants and you CT they shed some light on why they act this way or have no reason at all. I think the most important thing is that you are going above and beyond for this student and she will remember that.
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Solution #6
Since this is the CT's classroom, I would suggest not saying anything to her, but definitely praising the student as often as you can to balance out the negative comments from the assistants.
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Solution #7
Maybe you could reward the teachers for not being mean to the student. I wish. They might not like that. This is a tough call. I would ask the CT if I could personally tutor the student outside of school. Perhaps extra practice with speed (for times tables or whatever) is what this student needs. Using a token system would be good too. That is how Sylvan learning center "fixes" slow processing speed, through the student doing small assignments and getting tokens for getting everything they are doing correctly. It really works wonders in improving reading comprehension and upping the speed of things getting done.

I do not understand how rewarding the teacher for not being mean to their own student will help the situation? It is the teachers goal to help each and every student in their classroom so it is pointless to award the teacher for being nice to their own students. The real problem is with the assistants. I think LanuRy's solution to the problem would be the most appropriate in this situation. I do like your idea of helping the student outside the classroom. Sometimes students just need an extra shove in order to get better.

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