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his background, academic performance, and general attitude with his teachers, I have a greater
depression. He is eating less, sleeping less, not interested in normal activities for students his
age, and has had thoughts of self harm (which was caused him to be assessed for depression).
Student B lives with his grandmother and older brother. His mother has been in and out of jail for
drug use, and his father committed suicide. Student B’s brother is also depressed and refuses to
go to school. Currently, Student B’s mother is out of jail and attempting to regain custody, but
rarely visits Student B. Student B wishes to live with his mother, but his mental health has been
declining since his mother failed to keep a recent promise of going to court to fight for custody.
classroom, Student B has often been disciplined for defiance, although never suspended. Student
B’s teachers describe his general behavior as unpredictable-“up” one minute and “down” the
next. Sometimes he participates fully in class activities with the other students and other times he
refuses to do anything.
I had the opportunity to observe Student B throughout a regular school day. During this
time I witnessed the “rollercoaster” behavior described by the teachers. In the morning, Student
B was participating with the rest of the class, displaying seemingly “normal” behavior. The class
begins working on a group project, in which Student B does not seem particularly interested. He
lets the rest of his group make all of the decisions, but the other students don’t seem to mind him
sitting out. When the class transitions to a math activity, Student B often gets distracted and
begins to stare off into the distance for long periods of time.
Student B’s behavior begins to change when the class goes to P.E. Suddenly, Student B is
uninterested and does the bare minimum required for class participation. Student B’s behavior
continues to decline throughout the rest of the day, resulting in him taking a break from the
classroom to refocus and regain control of his emotions. Student B’s teacher says there are no
After gathering information about Student B’s background and observing him throughout
a full day, I have a much better understanding of this student. It seems that the struggles he is
facing in his life have affected him in a visible way. If I had not done this investigation, I might
have assumed Student B’s behavior was typical of any developing child. Now that I can better
understand his circumstances, I can be more prepared to handle situations where Student B may
not comply when in my classroom. I will give him positive reinforcement every chance I get and
will attempt to talk to him individually in instances when his mood is “down.” I will plan to give
Student B a designated space in the classroom if he needs to step away from the class activity for
a moment, as well as come up with a signal to let me know if he is having a bad day and needs
that space. I will respect Student B’s personal experiences by creating a comforting environment