A. At-risk behaviors, and why each behavior is problematic.
(i) As a tenth grader, the student is faced with an at-risk behavior of low performance. This can be said to develop from the refusal to participate in class, sleeping, and defacing learning material. This behavior may contribute to lack of interest in studies leading to dropping out of school. As a teacher, the first point would be to determine why the student does not participate in class. Is it because is shy, does not know, or is just ignorant about it? From an analysis of his overall character, the student seems ignorant on education. He lacks interest in learning, and this may explain the poor performance (Sagor and Cox, 2004).
A proposed solution to this might be using part time classes, so that the student improves on the reading skills and catches up with the tenth grade. However, this would be enhanced by an improvement on attitude to learn, which would be a challenge on my side.
The boy does not like to participate in class. The problem here is that the teacher cannot determine if the student does it out of ignorance, or he has a problem with understanding, or he is scared that his answers are wrong. As a teacher, I would engage the student in group discussions and also have private lessons with him. This would help me in determining his understanding capability and the cause of this behavior.
(ii) Being anti-social especially at his age is also a risk. At teenage, the youth learns a lot from their peers through sharing their experiences (Mazzotta-Perretti, 2009). It is through such compatibility that a young one determines his/her areas of weakness and strength to fit in the society. This risk is associated to problems like lack of self esteem, confidence and feelings of being stigmatized in the society. As a teacher, the best way, to address this is becoming close to this student and becoming a reliable friend. I should find time to be with the student and let him feel my closeness every time. This would assist in making the boy at ease with me and share what he feels. In addition, involving the boy with projects like sporting would also improve his social interaction.
(iii) The student has been spotted to have the behavior of spoiling books and desks. This is another at-risk behavior especially in a school setting. By defacing the textbooks, the boy indicates the lack of interest in reading. This may explain why he has records of low performances at his level. The at-risk behavior here is aggressiveness and rudeness. The risk here is that this behavior may be developed to the other students thus it’s a threat to the whole institution.
B. Instructional interventions.
Another solution to this would be by use of writing own compositions. This can be in the form of writing stories, scriptures, poems or even pieces of music. By doing this sentence structuring, use of correct wording and creativity in writing would develop. This is a strategy that would promote both oral and writing language.
Practical assessments will be implemented on reading. This would include group practical tests whereby the group members will have to discuss on their assessment before presentations. The student would be asked to lead the group in reading articles or any other written material. It is during such assessment that I would determine what challenges the student in this learning area. During such assessments, I would allow students to ask questions on the areas that they face challenges. The student will be placed in a situation that he has to ask on how apply class work (Sagor and Cox, 2004). This would develop social relation with his classmates or me.
As much as aggressiveness dominates the character of this student, this behavior cannot be tolerated in schools. Initially this issue should be handled with caution and advice. The student should be taught on how to handle disappointments and anger by discussing with people close to him. As a teacher, taking note of the things that frustrate this student to such levels would be necessary. Having such a record would assist me in avoiding situations that lead to aggressiveness. This would facilitate an exceptional learning environment for the student.
The behavior though seems to be persistence and beyond handling by advice. As a teacher, I would handle this behavior by use of behavior expectation awareness in class. This would include how students are supposed to behave during various lessons and the consequences of lack of adherence to the rules. Implementation would be by use of punishments and strict measures on students found on the wrong side of the rules. I would also facilitate the recognition of excellent behavior so that the students challenged and encouraged to behave properly.
Reference.
Mazzotta-Perretti, J. (2009). An Evaluation of At-risk Students' Behaviors through a Social Skills Intervention Program Designed to Improve School Success. Proquest: Illinois.
Sagor, R. & Cox, J. (2004). At-risk Students: Reaching and Teaching Them. Eye on Education: Larchmont, NY.
