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Nutmeg (Elementary)

Nutmeg is a six-year old child in the first grade. Daily he tells his parents that
he

has decided that school is “too much work” and that the work is “stupid” and so he

no longer wants to attend school. He begins every day by refusing to get out of

bed and then, when his parents insist he get up and dress, he cries, yells, argues
and

eventually he becomes so upset that he vomits and says he is “sick”. At this

point,

his parents believe he is sick and allows him to stay at home until “he feels
better.”

The school has called multiple time to the home, but the parents tell the school
that

he is home and sick.

He performs well below his ability in school academically, yet he is very social

and is well liked by other children. He likes sports and works hard at soccer, his

favorite sport. His parents favor him over his younger sister and they may not

have always been very consistent in their expectations of Nutmeg. He is a strong

will child and his parents are becoming discouraged and find it easier to relent to

his urgings than to fight with him every morning.

Mint (Elementary)

Mint is an 9-year-old girl that has transferred to your class from another school.
In

the first few days, you can see that Mint is well below her peers in all academic

areas. You have also noticed that she tries hard to be “invisible” in your class
and

will generally look the other way when you call upon students to answer questions.

Most of the time when you call on her she will tell you that “I’m not ready” or “I

lost my place.” Occasionally she will tell you that “someone is bothering her or

ask non-sequitur questions such as “when is lunch today” or “when is the next
assembly?” When you do get her to engage, she speaks very slowly often taking

longer than usual to “digest” the information and respond or she will ignore you

completely by putting her head down on her desk. During recess you ask her why

she is ignoring you. She responds by saying, “I’m not very smart”.

Academically she can write her name, but it takes her quite some time to finish and

her letters are often different sizes. She can count to 100, but has trouble
adding

two-two-digit numbers.

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Pepper (Elementary)

Pepper – is an 9-year old 2nd grader that started school late (began Kindergarten
at

the age of 6) and has been retained once in her first-grade year. She shows up to

school very early, in fact you have seen her at school when you arrive an hour

early to get prepped for your day. You have noticed that she doesn’t socialize with

her peers in the morning, at lunch or during recess, instead she gravitates toward

the adults on the playground and in the school cafeteria. You have noticed that
she

comes to school wearing the same thing every day and her clothing is dirty and

stained.
She tries hard to please you and will ask some ten or more times each day if there

is anything she can do to help you. Because she is older than the other students
in

your class, she tells you that the other “kids are just babies and don’t know

anything.” One day you approached her and asked for her classwork from the

previous day. When she opened her backpack, you saw three roaches crawl out.

You are horrified and take her and her backpack outside to “clean it up.” The
stuff

in her backpack is covered in crumbs and food stains and all of her schoolwork is

shoved inside and wrinkled.

Pepper appears to work in your class; on task behavior, quiet and pencil busily

taking notes. However when the work is turned in it is usually incomplete or the

paper is completely blank. During group work she looks attentive, but the other

students complain that she does not do “her share” of the work. When you work

with her individually she works hard to complete her assignment. Yesterday she

tells you that she thinks she has ADHD and that’s why she doesn’t get her work

done.

Basil (Elementary)

Basil – is a 6-year old first grader in your classroom. He pretends to work hard
on

all of his assignments and usually turns in homework. However, on the day of a

test, he tells you that he is sad and breakdown in tears. You have let him go

outside to collect himself on several other occasions when he has cried, however

this is becoming a weekly occurrence. Basil is somewhat social in your class and

has a “best friend” with whom he hangs out with during recess and lunch. During

math he will often tell you that he doesn’t get it and that you are a bad teacher.
He

goes on to say that good teachers are qualified and nice to their students. He has

also told you that you are not his mother/father and that he doesn’t have to listen
to
you.

Basil brings his lunch from home daily. In his lunch you notice that it is filled
with

chips, cookies and other treats. When you ask him about sandwiches and fruit, he

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tells you that “I don’t eat that stuff” and that his older brother packs his lunch.

You find out that his “older” brother is 8. He tells you that his favorite TV show
is

the Simpsons and will often shout out lines during class, group work or when you

call on him. You are worried about his actions and nutrition and have called home

several times with no response.

Mace (Secondary)

When Mace’s parents talked to her teacher during parent meetings, they were

surprised to hear that their daughter has not been coming to school with her

th

homework completed. Mace is in the 9 grade and her parents are panicked that

she will not get good grades and graduate from high school.

The teacher warns them that in her view, Mace is using her “old” (prior grades)

study habits and has not yet taken seriously the fact that she is in High School.

When they talk to Mace she assures them that she is “trying” to do her homework

but that the teacher is “asking for too much and gets upset when I do not do well”.

As a result of her poor study habits and lack of practice in content areas, Mace is

well behind in mathematics (fractions, decimals, and ratios) and language arts

(reading comprehension and essay writing).

When they question her more closely, they realize that Mace has been answering

and calling her friends on her telephone while studying (“only a few times” she
claims) and watching TV when she is “bored”. What do you suggest?

Rosemary (Secondary)

th

Rosemary, a 16-year old in your 10 grade class, often behaves in ways that are

inconsiderate of her classmates. She does not respect the personal space of
others,

often depositing her own trash on a neighbor’s desk or on the floor. She moves

students’ chairs to create obstructions or so that fellow students have difficulty

finding their seats. She rudely pushes other students out of the way to be first
out

the door at dismissal. Rosemary often expresses amusement at the discomfort she

causes others. She teases the boys and then complains that they are bothering her.

She calls out in class and becomes angry when she is not recognized. You have

spoken to Rosemary and warned her that her grade would suffer if she continued to

be disruptive in class. She listens and promises to do better, but quickly lapses

back in the bad behavior.

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Rosemary is an average student with definite adolescent tendencies. She is

physically mature for her age and dresses beyond her years, yet her behavior is

typically childish. Students have complained to you about her actions multiple

times over the semester. She comes from a privileged one-parent family, but her

father is frequently away on business trips, during which time she stays with her

elderly grandmother. Rosemary’s mother is fighting for custody but has a history

of drug abuse and mental health issues.

 Sage (Secondary)

Sage – shows up 10 to 20 minutes late to class every day and generally makes a

big production that he has arrived at school. Homework, if assigned is rarely

completed or turned in at all. He does not come prepared to class and does not

make up assignments. He is a 13-year-old seventh-grader who recently arrived in

the United States from Brazil. He speaks little English and finds that school in
the

United States is very different from school in his native country. He receives free

breakfast and lunch but seems to come to school dressed nicely and his clothing is

clean. From his records you know that he has three older brothers and the

youngest of them is a senior in high school.

He does not take notes in class and when asked why he says “too hard to listen and

write at the same time.” You let him know that it is OK for him to take notes in
his

home language, but he still refuses. When you press him to answer questions in

class he shouts out that “I don’t want to answer this silly question” and then

proceeds to tell you that you are incompetent teacher in Portuguese. During group

work he rarely participates and you often see him just sitting at his desk looking
at

his cell phone. However, when he is paired with nothing but girls in his group,
you

have noticed that he is talking more, but not always about the task at hand.

Curry (Secondary)
Curry – is a 15-year old girl in your class who just arrived the previous week.
She

and her brother are new to the school. Both children receive free breakfast and

lunch. In fact, you have noticed that in her backpack she has carefully wrapped
her

leftover breakfast. When you question her about the food in her backpack, she

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tells you that she is saving it for her brother. When you check her file, you find
out

that this is her third school this year and it’s only March.

You also know, according to her intake questionnaire that she is currently living
in

a hotel with her brother and mother; there are no other emergency names provided.

Her permanent file will likely get to your school by the end of the academic year.

Before school, during lunch and after school she hangs out with only her brother.

Neither of the students appears to be making friends. She rarely speaks in class

and when she does it is so softly that you often have to ask her to speak up. In

class when she gets an answer wrong, she tells you that she is stupid and cries.

Her clothing looks worn, old and greatly oversized. You are concerned about her

behavior and have tried numerous times to contact her mother. The last time you

found that the number provided is no longer in service. When you ask her to have

her mother contact you, she tells you that her mother is often sick and stays in
bed

until after she gets home from school.