The Case of Marsha Warren

The Case of Marsha Warren

Marsha Warren 's third grade class is made up of twenty-two students Eight of the students are falling behind in reading due to single-family homes , no interest in learning , language barriers and low intellect These students disrupt the class daily and fight among themselves constantly . In an effort to improve their reading , Ms . Warren gathers the eight for a reading group while the rest of the students complete workbook assignments . The students working on the workbook assignment are well-behaved but are pulled away from their work by

the in-fighting among the low performance reading students

The eight students are pulled apart from the rest of the class and thus labeled as different . Other teachers have called them infidels , people who have no Christian values , no consciousness , no feelings and are uncaring or even dangerous . Although the teachers have not called the students infidels face to face , the teachers feelings are clear in what they say and how they treat the students . This causes the students to act out in to show that they are unconcerned with what the rest of the school think of them

Ms . Warren is not acting . This behavior pattern has already been established . Yet , she is responsible for how the students feel while in her classroom and she has the power to influence their behavior . By developing a class within a class , Ms . Warren is asking for uncooperativeness . The students are arguing and fighting among themselves because they do not want to read aloud and have the entire class ' attention on them . They have been labeled as poor readers and the last thing they want is to be embarrassed

Ms . Warren believes the problem stems from the students ' home life She gets no help from the parents . She has sent notes home , called the parents and tried to help the students improve in their reading Nothing has worked . She is frustrated and upset by her inability to reach the students and their behavior . Once she storms out the classroom , she has given up a measure of control . She needs to take a deep breath , walk back into the classroom , bring the entire class together and explain what caused her outbreak . Apologize to the class but let them know that their behavior was unacceptable

The next day Ms . Warren should have an outburst day . Discuss anger and why it is not the best way to express your feelings . Incorporate a discussion of alternate ways to express your feeling and assign a writing assignment dealing with the subject . In this way , Ms . Warren lets the students know that she is not perfect , gives the students a sense of ownership of the classroom while still maintaining control

In the future , Ms . Warren should have the entire class participate in the reading group . At this age , students are great helpers . Ms . Warren should pick eight strong readers who are mature , responsible and helpful . They will become the low-functioning readers `reading buddies . The rest of...