New York University

Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development

Department of Teaching and Learning
TCHL-UE.1999 & TCHL-GE.2999
Field Based and Open Internet Assignment
SPRING 2016

Name: Jillian Zhu

Program: Non-Steinhardt accredation, CAS Chem Major
Name of Field Site/School: N/A
Current Role at the Field Site/School:
Age of Students/Clients or Grade Level: N/A
E-Mail Address: jjz258@nyu.edu
ID Number: 15174476

INSTRUCTIONS:

Familiarize yourself with this assignment and print out a copy of the 8 text based and
interview based questions.

View the List of Resources and the Overview of Topics available via the Assignment
Resources Tab on NYU Classes Course Site.

Questions 1, 2 and 3 provide an option of collaborating with a classmate- acknowledge

the collaborator in the research. Questions 4 to 8 require an individual response.

Please document all sources consulted.

The assignment requires that you undertake a small amount of research in a school or
other clinical setting of your choosing. However, for each field based question (OPTION
A) we have provided another assignment (OPTION B) for students that do not have
access to a field site. If you select OPTION A and the educator at your field site does not
provide an answer for your question or states that the question is not applicable to the
field setting, please complete OPTION B.

After you complete the questions, save your work as a word document and upload the file
via the Assignment Tab in NYU Classes Course Site.

Please submit thoughtful and thorough responses. Instructors will provide feedback
after they review your responses and you may be asked to make revisions or
updates.

E-mail rp1018@nyu.edu if you have any questions regarding the assignment.

1
 The nature of the assignment, however, is that you can start it any time, and finish it
much earlier than that deadline.

YOU HAVE THE OPTION OF COMPLETING QUESTIONS 1, 2 and 3 IN

COLLABORATION WITH A CLASSMATE:

1. Familiarize yourself/yourselves with the scenario and the Assignment Resources

available via NYU Classes as well as the SAVE Legislation

Eric, 12 years old, lives with his mother, his 7 year old sister, Rose, and 2 year old
brother, John. He is enrolled in the 6th grade. Eric stutters, is short for his age, and
wears the same clothing every day. He brings his sister to school in the morning and
picks her up in the afternoon while his mother takes care of the younger sibling. Rose is
extremely shy, rarely interacts with other children, and also wears the same clothing
every day. Eric has very few friends in school and out of school even though some of
his classmates live in the same building. Indeed, Erics teachers think that he faces some
of the same social challenges in his building that he faces at school. In some classes Eric
cant complete a sentence before a classmate yells out, "Hey stupid, idiot" or some
other derogatory name. Lately Eric complains of headaches and other maladies and is
starting to miss school. The guidance counselor has made several attempts to meet with
Eric's mother- to no avail. His mother has failed to show up for appointments.

Identify the course topics (listed in the course syllabus) that pertain to the scenario and
what actions are expected and required of you as the educator.

Collaborated with:
N/A
Resources Consulted:
Office of Children and Family Services, NYCDOE Chancellors Regulation

Issues Related to Course Topics and to Interventions that are warranted

your responsibilities as an educator

Child Abuse For Child Abuse: an educator should report

Bullying/Harassment at School
his/her concerns by telephone to the NY
Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and
Maltreatment, even if he/she has very little
information (just intuition), the SCR specialist
will tell you whether you should make a
maltreatment report.

For Bullying/Harassment: The health educator

should be able to report to the designated staff
member who deals with discrimination and

2
 bullying. This designated staff member should
have had training for these situations, and will
tell you what to do. If the student doesnt want
to report to the school staff member, he/she
can report to the OSYD through email.

2. Via the assignment resources and the Connect with Kids videos available via
NYU Classes, the Professional Panel Video ( http://vimeo.com/35763865 )
and given the rich materials available on the Internet - explain the steps you
would take to refer a student who might be at risk for alcohol and drug abuse
and indicate the resources that are available to students. From the perspective
of your professional role, what are some things that you can imagine doing to
address alcohol use and abuse among young people?

Collaborated with: N/A

Resources Consulted: Connect with Kids video, Professional Panel Video, NIDA

The steps that I would take to refer a student who might be at risk for alcohol and drug abuse
would be to refer them to online resources and the school guidance counselor. I would
recommend the student talk to the guidance counselor if he/she felt comfortable, but if not then I
would recommend them to check out the online resources, such as NIDA for Teens or Combat
Heroin. After referring them to these websites, I would make sure that they also know of phone
numbers (that are provided on the websites) that they can call if they need someone else to talk
to.
From a professional role, I might join the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids or Combat Heroin. I
would hand out/ provide the pamphlets that these organizations hand out. In my professional
role, I would also advise young teens to stay away from alcohol and drugs.

3
3. OPTION A:

Interview the DASA Coordinator (Respect for All

Coordinator) at your field site and ask him/her to discuss
his/her role and what the school/field site is doing to
address bullying, harassment and discrimination among
students.

N/A

4
3. OPTION B:

If you were in a position yourself where you were in

charge, what would be expected of you if you witnessed
bullying, harassment and discrimination among
students/clients?

Collaborated with: N/A

Cite Resources/Give Citations: NYCDOE Chancellors Regulation, NYSED Dignity
Act

If I were in charge and I witnessed bullying, harassment, or discrimination among

students/ clients, I would make a written report of the incident and then lead an
investigation of the reports of harassment, bullying, or discrimination. I would
reassure the student, that what happened is not his/her fault and make sure everyone
is safe at the scene of the incident. Then I would discuss with his/her parents,
teacher, and any other adults in the situation to find out what the appropriate action
would be to prevent another incident of bullying, harassment, or discrimination.

5
 4. Read the Mandated Reporter Guidelines posted on the Office of Children
and Family Services website and NYCDOE Chancellors Regulations on
Child Abuse Prevention:

http://www.ocfs.state.ny.us/main/publications/Pub1159text.asp

http://www.ocfs.state.ny.us/ohrd/materials/58451.pdf

http://www.ocfs.state.ny.us/main/prevention/

http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/381F4607-7841-4D28-B7D5-
0F30DDB77DFA/97056/A7501202011FINAL.pdf

And familiarize yourself with the Child Abuse resources available via the
Assignment Resources Tab in Classes.

In accordance with the New York State and New York City mandated reporter
guidelines and the suggested resources:

How does the State define child abuse and maltreatment?

In your own words, what steps is a mandated reporter required to take if

he/she suspects that a student is being abused? (Please provide a detailed
response)

6
In accordance with the NYS and NYC mandated reporter guidelines, the State defines
child abuse as a parent or other legally responsible person inflicting/allows inflicting of
an injury, creates/allows creation of substantial risk of physical injury, or commits/allows
committing sexual crimes of a child in their care. The State defines maltreatment as the
impairment/imminent impairment of a childs physical/mental/emotional condition AND
the failure to exercise a minimum degree of care in supplying enough food/clothing/
shelter/education/medical or dental care if they have the ability to do so/proper
supervision or inflicting excessive corporal punishment or misuse of drugs/alcohol AND
there is a connection between the childs connection and the failure to exercise minimum
degree of care, or the parent just abandons the child thereby showing intent to give up
his/her parental rights.

If a mandated reporter suspects child abuse/maltreatment, he/she should call either the
SCR or the Mandated Reporter Telephone number, to check if his/her suspicions should
be reported as abuse. Once the SCR or Mandated Reporter Telephone number confirms
that the suspicions are abuse/maltreatment, the mandated reporter should be ready to
provide the following information:
The effect on the child, the names/addresses of the child and parents/guardians, location
of the child at time of report, childs age/gender/race, nature of childs abuse, name of
suspect responsible for the abuse, family composition, any special needs/meds, a need of
interpreter, the source of the report, the person making the report and contact info, the
actions taken by the reporting source, any personal issues for CPS workers, and any
additional information.
Out of the above information, an address is crucial. After the call, a form should be
submitted within 48 hours to the appropriate local CPS office.

7
 5. View the video entitled Bettina Aptheker on Child Abuse, An Interview by
Robert Cohen and Fred Kaeser at http://vimeo.com/29325515 THIS VIDEO
IS PASSWORD PROTECTED and the PASSWORD is: steinhardt22
Prof. Bettina Aptheker is a Professor at the University of California at Santa
Cruz and the Author of Intimate Politics.

What advice does Bettina Aptheker give educators? How do they create a safe and
supportive environment for their students?

Bettina Aptheker tells educators that maybe getting kids to move, draw, listen to music as a form
for empowerment to the children. She suggests that the artistic side tends to help children deal
with emotional issues they are dealing with. Aptheker agrees that educators should become an
emotional life jacket for children, but also cannot be too overzealous. She states that children
need to recover from having their boundaries broken, and that educators shouldnt push the
children to hurry and recover.
She also advises educators to receive training in order to create a safe environment for the
children to talk to the teachers. As an educator, Aptheker states that an educator should allow
their students to talk, in order to create a safe and supportive environment. She also suggests that
the most useful thing to do is to relate a personal experience of them being ashamed, and what
allowed them to see that they had nothing to be ashamed of. She says that it is effective, because
it allows them to see that it isnt only them that feels that way.

8
6. OPTION A:

At your school or field site:

What is the policy regarding students threatening other students?

And

Summarize the required procedure if an educator suspects a student may

have a weapon.

Name of School or Field Site:

Professional(s) Consulted:

Resources Consulted:

N/A

9
6. OPTION B.

Familiarize yourself with the NYCDOE Discipline Code available via:

http://schools.nyc.gov/RulesPolicies/DisciplineCode/default.htm

Based on the age of students that you will be working with, what are the
guidance interventions and the range of possible disciplinary responses
for the following 2 infraction/s:

A student threatens a classmate

AND
A student brings a weapon to school

10
For a student who threatens a classmate and a student brings a weapon to school,
guidance interventions should be parent outreach, short-term behavioral progress
reports, guidance conferences, development of individual behavior contract, intervention
by counseling staff, referral to PPT/CBO/Counseling Services for Bullying,
Intimidation, or Harassment/Counseling Services for Bias-Based Bullying, Intimidation,
or Harassment, individual/group counseling, mentoring program, or collaborative
problem solving.
Possible disciplinary responses for a student who threatens a classmate could be
detention, exclusion from extracurricular activities/communal lunchtime, suspension,
parent-teacher conference, or admonishment by pedagogical school staff.
Possible disciplinary responses for a student who brings a weapon to school could be
suspension, superintendents suspension, or expulsion.

11
 7. Familiarize yourself with the New York City Department of Education
(NYCDOE) Mandated Age Appropriate HIV/ AIDS Curriculum

http://schools.nyc.gov/Academics/FitnessandHealth/StandardsCurriculum/HI
VAIDSCurriculum

and other resources posted on the Assignment Resources Tab.

Based on the age level of the students that you will be working with, what is your
role as a socially responsible educator with regard to HIV/AIDS education?

As an educator of middle school students, I would be socially responsible in the

education of what is HIV/AIDS, the response of the immune system, and the substances
in which the diseases can be spread through. My role would be to inform the students on
what HIV/AIDS is and how it can be prevented from spreading. With younger students, I
wouldnt necessarily touch on what HIV/AIDS, but rather focus on promoting good
hygiene and show the students how to recover from a sickness. With older students, I
would go into scientific details on how HIV/AIDS affects the body and how to deal with
the health challenges that comes with HIV/AIDS. Overall, my role as a socially
responsible educator is to prepare the students on how to prevent getting any diseases
and (if its too late) on how to cope with the consequences of the diseases.

12
Resources Consulted: CDC HIV/AIDS Fact Sheet, NYCDOE HIV/AIDS Curriculum

8. OPTION A

1. Interview an educator at your field site and ask them how they would
address the following:

While working with students in a class or group setting, a male student asks
to use the hall pass. Upon his return to the room, the student says,
"Someone started a fire in the garbage can in the boys bathroom."

What steps will the educator take and what is his/her role in protecting
students from harm in this scenario? What is the schools role?

N/A

13
2. What is the school /field sites policy on releasing students before
dismissal? How is student absence addressed at your field site?

3. What is the school or field sites policy regarding visitors to the

classroom/site?

14
 Resources Consulted:

Professional Interviewed:

8. OPTION B:

Review the following links:

NYS Education law: http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/nycode/EDN/I/17/808
http://www.optnyc.org/schools/safetydrills.htm
http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/30CB88A1-110E-4A6F-81A8-
E7770BBC42EE/0/GRPOnePageSummary.pdf
NYS Education law; http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/nycode/EDN/I/17/803-a
http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/bill/S2367-2013
http://www.troopers.ny.gov/Publications/Crime_Prevention/stepawayforsafety.pdf

Referencing the 6 websites and the Safety Education resources available via the
Assignment Resources Tab- indicate what schools and educators are required to
do in order to keep students safe.

Schools and educators are required to conduct at least 3 school bus safety drills per
school year, which include directions on how to evacuate, dangers encountered when
going outside, and rules for orderly conduct. They are also required to check the
hallway, lock classroom doors, turn the lights off, move away from sight and maintain
silence, take attendance, and wait for first responders/all clear during soft or hard
lockdowns. Schools and educators are also required to provide instruction designed to
prevent child abduction, and hopefully through the new senate bill, to provide
instruction on child sex abuse and exploitation. Schools and educators are also
required to provide information on preventing kidnapping, through being alert, having
a safety zone, a secret password, trusting your instincts, and avoiding the lure/tricks
into an unsafe zone. Lastly, schools and educators are required to provide a
safe/supportive environment, prevent school violence, identify and report child abuse,
provide information and prevent substance abuse, and inform students on HIV/AIDs
(or if they are too young, on disease prevention methods).

15
16