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Case: Hesitations to speak English
Miss Johnson enjoys teaching Kindergarten very much. Her love for children has allowed her to be a "natural" in the classroom. She has been so comfortable instructing Kindergarteners, that she has never felt unprepared for any situation that might occur in her daily classroom routines. Miss Johnson is confident in the reputation she has gained with her students and their parents. Miss Johnson started this particular school year with a few ESL (English as a Second Language) students in her classroom. Her self confidence did not waver as she carefully planned her lessons with these second language learners in mind. Miss Johnson continued to strengthen her teaching skills as she observed the progress of her students, including the ESL students who had become very much a part of the Kindergarten class. One certain ESL student, Rosa, was learning English at a slower rate than the other language learners. Miss Johnson attributed Rosa's reluctance to speak the new language to her shyness and lack of confidence. Furthermore, Rosa's parents had never responded to Miss Johnson's notes and invitations. Miss Johnson decided to give the situation more time and not worry about rushing to conclusions. When February arrived, Miss Johnson sent home notes with her students informing parents about the upcoming Valentine's Day Kindergarten party. She asked parents to send a shoebox to school in order for their children to decorate it, in preparation for the special day. The next day Miss Johnson's eager students began bringing in their boxes. When Rosa presented a nicely wrapped box to Miss Johnson, the classroom grew silent. For the first time in her teaching career, Miss Johnson was not prepared for this moment. She asked Rosa if she should open the box. Rosa smiled and nodded for her teacher to unwrap the box. When Miss Johnson took off the bow and unwrapped the box, she realized that Rosa's parents had not only wrapped the shoebox but had put something in it. Miss Johnson slowly opened the shoebox as everybody watched. Much to Miss Johnson's surprise, the box contained a brand new pair of lady's shoes. All of the Kindergarteners laughed, all except for Rosa.
Questions:
1. After observing Rosa's hesitations to speak English, what approaches could Miss Johnson pursue to assess the situation?
2. What steps can Miss Johnson take to assure parental communication and involvement?
3. How could Miss Johnson make a pleasant learning situation out of the Valentine box event?
Solution: (Rates are posted for this solution!)
1. There are several things that Miss Johnson could do to assess the situation. The first would be to talk to Rosa herself. Miss Johnson could arrange a private meeting with her just to talk about how she is feeling in the classroom, etc. The next thing Miss Johnson should do is communicate with her parents. She needs to get in touch with Rosa's parents so that Miss Johnson can understand Rosa better and so she and Rosa's parents form a team to help Rosa succeed. I think it is also possible that Rosa might just not want to talk. I had a student in one of my classes who was an ELL student. She refused to talk when the teacher was around. In that case, it became an even more serious issue. This is why Miss Johnson must communicate with Rosa's parents so that she can truly gain an understanding of the situation instead of just waiting around to see what happens.
2. Miss Johnson might be assuming that Rosa's parents can speak English. Whatever Miss Johnson sends home she needs to send two versions: an English version and in this case, a Spanish version. If Miss Johnson were to do this it would increase Rosa's parents' ability for communication and involvement. She needs to assure them that they can also write back in whatever language they are comfortable (Miss Johnson can translate it via Rosa, on the computer, or by asking the ELL teacher at the school). Most of the time parents want to be involved, but sometimes they can't due to language barriers. Miss Johnson needs to be sensitive towards the situation and encourage responses no matter the language. That is a sure way to promote more parental involvement.
3. Miss Johnson needs to treat it like a gift in front of the students because that is the way that Rosa and her parents understood the assignment. The parents took the assignment literally. Miss Johnson should tell the class how wonderful it was that Rosa's parents sent shoes for her (Miss Johnson) as well as fulfulling the assignment. I am afraid that if Miss Johnson says that she only asked for an empty shoebox in front of the class then that will only continue to keep Rosa from talking. Miss Johnson should pull Rosa aside later, explain the situation and assure Rosa that the misunderstanding is completely her fault. She should then send a note home with the shoes to the parents (in two languages) explaining the situation to them and aplogizing for the confusion. Miss Johnson can learn from this situation to be more explicit with her directions so all cultures can understand clearly. |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: |
| Rated On: February 17, 2013 8:20 pm |
| Rated By: Margaret Lales |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: |
| Rated On: February 19, 2013 8:10 pm |
| Rated By: eMypur |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: |
| Rated On: February 26, 2013 11:15 am |
| Rated By: |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: |
| Rated On: March 3, 2013 5:44 pm |
| Rated By: GaTuWy |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: Handling this situation in a respectful manner towards Rosa and her parents is the only solution. ESL services need to be provided and correspondence sent home must be written in both English and Spanish to ensure that there are no further miscommunications. |
| Rated On: October 14, 2014 4:38 pm |
| Rated By: Denise Lukacik |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: Great solution! Very informative. |
| Rated On: October 17, 2014 4:37 pm |
| Rated By: TuBuJy |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: I agree with this solution. I feel it's best to act surprised and thankful for the gift, and not mention to the class that it was a miscommunication. If the parents cannot be reached, then efforts should be made to at least talk to Rosa with the help of the ESOL teacher or translator so you can talk to her about the importance of meeting with her parents, and make sure to have a translator available for that conference. Also, during the initial meeting with Rosa you can try to see what her hesitations are. |
| Rated On: October 20, 2014 4:57 am |
| Rated By: WeGuQy |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: Strong statements |
| Rated On: February 24, 2015 4:42 pm |
| Rated By: zyWute |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: I agree with this solution |
| Rated On: February 28, 2015 8:34 pm |
| Rated By: eSaPaz |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: Agree! I can definitely use this in my classroom in the future. Great solution! |
| Rated On: March 1, 2015 5:48 am |
| Rated By: apazeR |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: If I were in this situation, I would exactly do this. Great ideas! |
| Rated On: October 13, 2015 6:44 pm |
| Rated By: bahete |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: If I were in this situation, I would exactly do this. |
| Rated On: October 20, 2015 11:41 pm |
| Rated By: RuTemu |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: . |
| Rated On: November 2, 2015 4:20 am |
| Rated By: uSezaV |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: amazing. thorough |
| Rated On: October 16, 2017 3:17 am |
| Rated By: yReNyp |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: This seems like an effective solution since it directly addresses the problem in a positive way. |
| Rated On: October 13, 2018 6:36 pm |
| Rated By: byRyLe |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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Comments: If I were in this situation, I would exactly do this.
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| Rated On: December 4, 2018 1:59 am |
| Rated By: yzysuZ |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: Excellent points |
| Rated On: July 7, 2019 9:13 pm |
| Rated By: Brenda Perez Prieto |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: I agree with the solution |
| Rated On: October 6, 2020 1:57 pm |
| Rated By: Meghan Fletcher |
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