Friday, August 10, 2012
A case of abusing a learning disability
Gavin, a grade ten student, was not passing my course. I attended a meeting with the father, the administration, Gavin's other teachers and the Academic Resource teachers. We acknowledged his disability: his handwriting is almost illegible, he prefers to learn auditorily and he displays defiance to authority.
In the context of the meeting, he insisted that he would not write anything down, either with assistive technology. Was this adamant refusal due to a total lack of confidence in his note-taking skills, or was this a case of banking on his auditory skills to absorb enough information to pass the course? His other teachers told me he typically waited until the end of the course and produced just enough work to pass.
Toward the end of the semester in my course, Gavin wrote some tests and the final exam. His final task portfolio which is heavily weighted in my course was brought to me after the deadline and its content was incomplete.
Twice he oppposed my requests of him in the classroom to the point where the Vice-Principal had to come and remove him. Once he pushed me to get into the classroom when I stood at the door with some catchup work for him to complete in the hall. At times he would get up and move around without permission, touching classmates or throwing objects.
As the teacher, I struggled between wanting to help Gavin and letting him suffer the consequences of his behaviours. I tried to stay open to seeing him succeed until the end of the course, though at times I felt it was not in his own best interest to receive the course credit.
I did not really know until I added up the marks, including for all the work I had received late, whether he would get 50% or not. In the end, he was not successful. I believe this may help him to see that a disability cannot excuse incivility and last minute efforts.
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This is too bad. However, sometimes the hard decisions (in this case deeming the student unsuccessful) are the best ones that are made for a student. I know this from experience as I flunked out of Brock University 6 years ago.
ReplyDeleteThat was quite hard for me but in the end when I did re attend university I was successful. Hopefully in 5 years time this young man will have sorted out the issues that were preventing him from success.
Anyways, interesting read about a sometimes "touchy" issue in the field of education!
The first question I have when reading Gavin’s situation is this: how is displaying defiance to authority a learning disability? Is this not a behavioural issue that needs to be addressed separately from his handwriting difficulties and preference for auditory learning? I wonder if his defiance to authority signifies a deeper learning issue that has not yet been identified. Perhaps there are issues of difficulty in Gavin’s personal life that are causing his challenging behaviour and attitude at school. Is Gavin acting out in frustration because he is unable to communicate deeper needs? Without knowing so many details particular to Gavin, it is impossible to say.
ReplyDeleteI would have liked to see Gavin speak with a school counsellor to dialogue about his refusal to use assistive technology and his defiant behaviour. I think that getting to the root of the problem would have perhaps shed enough light to show ways to better engage Gavin and bring him towards academic success.
What a tough situation that you are in, It seems that he has a problem with authority figures ,he likes to do things on his own watch, proven by his other teachers feedback on his work, In my opinion you exhausted all efforts to help him to overcome his problem and he’s not responding, I don’t know exactly the reason behind his behaviour but am convinced that he willingly chose to insist on his behaviour, I would highly recommend that the counsellor meet with the parents to get a better understanding of his behaviour at home preferably before meeting with the student , hopefully this would add some light to the situation.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I don’t want to fail him, my conscious won’t allow me to let him pass as he’s not ready yet for the next level.
I would never condone failing a student to teach a lesson but I do sympathize with the teacher on all fronts and in the end the marks dictated the final action and the student indeed received what they deserved. I also am not a fan of unrightfully passing a student unless there was a serious reason beyond their control that lead to their situation and they display the necessary skills the course intended to impart. Students do need to step up to the bar not have it lowered for them.
ReplyDeleteGreg L.
Something to consider is that persons with learning disabilities might also have other emotional/behavior issues that are a part of the disability. I would want to read what is psycho educational assessment stated about his behavior. Is he able to be compliant. I am wondering if a meeting with the psychologist would be helpful. At the end of the day the technology is intended to level the playing field in terms of ability. But behavioral issues are more difficult to deal with.
ReplyDeleteIts hard for people who have learning disabilities to see things the way other people see things.
This is a hard issue. The student will have to face reality of compliance sooner or later and it may be better sooner then later.
There are always cosequences to actions. Some are good and some not so good. Sometimes we can avoid them or put them off, but behaviour that has negative consequences will eventually catch up to us. If we procrastinate we will have more to do as school work piles up. If we don't pay our mortgage payment, we will lose our house. In the Bible we see that Christ forgave us for our sins, but that does not mean we don't live with consequences in the here and now. If I yell at members of my family, they will respond in a particular way. If I do it more and more often it could be abuse. I hurt my relationship with them regardless of forgiveness. Surely as teachers we are doing students a diservice by not teaching them that there are consequences for being late on assignments, or not respecting others, or not respecting people in positions of authority. If they don't learn them at school, where will they learn it.
ReplyDeleteI see this situation as a complex issue. Gavin obviously has a few more issues than just illegible handwriting. It is positive that his father was involved in the meeting, yet were they going to go further and get Gavin the help that he needed. His physical pushing of the teacher is inexcusable and there is never any reason why this should be overlooked. It is a life lesson often disregarded.....your actions have consequences! Lateness with assignments can be excused once but in this case it seemed to have become an accepted behaviour and that is not going to be the case once Gavin enters the working world. The other question to ask ourselves is Gavin's behaviour a defiance to authority figures or simply an anger management issue. Needless to say, Gavin needs professional help to sort out these issues.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Gavin's behavior reflected the frustration he felt from years of being "misunderstood", or from falling through the cracks. I know from personal experience with my daughter who has an LD, that they often feel frustrated from a lack of help and resources for them. They also often feel bad about themselves and have low self-esteem because they cannot keep up with the other kids. By grade 10 Gavin would probably have had both good and bad teachers that would colour his beliefs and feelings about education. It is unfortunate that he did not appreciate the help offered to him in this situation. It sounds like good accomodations were in place. I do not agree with failing a student to teach them a lesson or as a punishment. I do, however, think there should be consequences for his behavior. He will not be a successful member of society if he continues to behave in such ways toward authority figures.
ReplyDeleteInteresting case.
If the only thing you taught this student was that there are always consequences to your actions I think that you succeeded as a teacher. That being said, obviously all of the other aspects to this situation are stressful and frustrating to say the least.
ReplyDeleteI would become absolutely rigid about accommodating a student if they pushed me in a disrespectful way. That is just unacceptable and I am curious about what your Principals advice was concerning this.
I am also curious about what the parents had to say about their child's behaviour or their opinion on the learning disabilities.
If the only thing you taught this student was that there are always consequences to your actions I think that you succeeded as a teacher. That being said, obviously all of the other aspects to this situation are stressful and frustrating to say the least.
ReplyDeleteI would become absolutely rigid about accommodating a student if they pushed me in a disrespectful way. That is just unacceptable and I am curious about what your Principals advice was concerning this.
I am also curious about what the parents had to say about their child's behaviour or their opinion on the learning disabilities.
If the only thing you taught this student was that there are always consequences to your actions I think that you succeeded as a teacher. That being said, obviously all of the other aspects to this situation are stressful and frustrating to say the least.
ReplyDeleteI would become absolutely rigid about accommodating a student if they pushed me in a disrespectful way. That is just unacceptable and I am curious about what your Principals advice was concerning this.
I am also curious about what the parents had to say about their child's behaviour or their opinion on the learning disabilities.
The situation is hard but much like a reality. Throughout our teaching profession, there will be students who are disobedient, disrespectful and challenging. They appear as though they don’t care or want to learn. What I’ve learned, is not to take it personal. Yes as caring professionals, we want to help and create positive changes for those students who require it the most however; it is unlikely to happen if the students themselves are not willing to change. They control their path to change, not us. Sure we can offer support and guidance but it ultimately depends on the students’ willingness attitude to accept assistance. As in this scenario, you tried to reach out and offer your support thereby demonstrating that you care. I think that as teachers we have a natural tendency to see our students succeed; we want to see them do well however we need to remember that not all students will academically flourish respectively, if they do not possess the mindset and effort to do so. Remember that succession is deemed as a progression; Just because the student may not be successful in your classroom does not mean that they will be unsuccessful further on.
ReplyDeleteBy the sounds of it this student really is playing on the emotions of teachers in order to get a passing grade. Of course teachers will sympathize with students who have learning disabilities and may give them marks for trying.While it may be a tough call, I do feel it is the right thing to do to not pass this student because it is evident that he has been able to get away with not doing the work and still passing.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend (not learning disabled)who didn't make any effort in high school. She was always late for classes and often skipped. She would attend class to hand in assignments that she had done last minute and was barely passing. Our grade 12 year she went to 4 different teachers begging them to pass her so she could get into college. They all did. This taught her nothing. She ended up dropping out of college after first year to work at a minimum wedge job. She is still working at the same job 7 years later; she is often late and calls in sick at least once a month. I feel that if her teachers refused to pass her she might have learned to take responsibility for her actions; instead, she learned that she can sweet talk her way out of things.
Although it must have been hard to fail the student, I think the right choice was made. Hopefully it will benefit him in the long run.
Wow...it appears that Gavin has some underlying reasons for his behaviour. However, as stated, disabilities do not excuse incivility. I feel as if you've tried to help Gavin to the best of your ability. Gavin must then do his part. Being defiant and difficult - to say the least - do not help his case. If efforts have been made to help Gavin succeed, he must at least try to find a way to reciprocate.
ReplyDeleteDiana Sebamaalai