Posted: April 3rd, 2017

Being the special educator, the eighth grade math teacher has come to talk with you about Andy, who was already held back once and is now in danger of failing again

Being the special educator, the eighth grade math teacher has come to talk with you about Andy, who was already held back once and is now in danger of failing again. He explains that Andy refuses to complete his work and his distracting behavior has a negative impact on other students. You ask, “Have you tried any of the strategies I suggested last time we talked about this?” The teacher replies, “I just don’t have time to do all that extra planning. I’m swamped with planning for three different math classes as it is and grading all these papers. He’s going to have to go back to the special education class, or I’m sure he’s going to fail again.” With over 20 years of teaching experience, this teacher has spent 15 at this school and in the same classroom. He has been known to refer to students as “mine” and “yours” for quite some time. On the other hand, this is only your second year teaching and your very first post-college professional position. You know Andy is successfully passing his other classes, and if the math teacher would use some of the accommodations you suggested, he would be much more successful. Imagine you are in a collaborative team meeting with the math teacher and the assistant principal. Your goal is to figure out a way to ensure Andy is given all the tools he needs to be successful.