3&4

Teachers have all kinds of academic and behavioral expectations for their students. But what happens when those expectations are not met? Educators need a plan. The author outlines options for handling unmet expectations he calls Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C

Plan A:  When adult impose their wills to the students . For example teacher ask student to discuss topic and students refuse to discuss it.
Plan B:  Teacher and students work as a  communities. Working together toward find solutions so that both address. The lagging skills are taught.
Plan C: Involving dropping a given expectations complete


There are two primary analysis tools the author supports to help define what skills are lacking for a given student. These tools are: 

1. ALSUP
2. Situational analysis

Teacher use these skills to solve problems and helping challenging kids and adult as community. Greene are argues kids are challenging when the cognitive demand exceed their ability to make to adaptive decisions, and made maladaptive instead. He refers to these as incompatibility episodes. The AlSUP helps us find and pinpoint these problems. We can look at these as discussion guide. Rather than working in isolation, it is better to bring a team of people who know the student to work together toward a goal. The team have to focus on what is causing the incompatibility?

Chapters 7&8

On chapter 7 a question was asked that got me thinking "what about the other kids in the classroom"?  How are we going to reduce the negative impact of the challenging kid on the learning and safety of his classmates? And this is a question we all ask ourselves when we are teaching in a room how do we address the challenging kid without disturbing the other children, and bringing the attention to the child. Managing Challenging kids can be difficult because once the whole class notices or comes aware that the child is challenging they will not be welcoming to that child. I say this out of experience, I'm not saying it's okay AT ALL, but it can take a social emotional effect on the child. Again I'm saying this because last year I was working with a child and he was a very challenging child, and with that being said the parents also became aware of that so he was never invited to birthday parties or play dates, which to me was kind of sad because although the child didn't know about these events he was missing out on a lot of activities. Chapter 7 also mentions that each group of kids is different and I completely agree with this quote because the strategies that you might have used with one group of kids might not always work for another group of kids.

Chapter 8 mentions leadership and I think that leadership is crucial to a school if the leadership of the school and I mean administration, is not to part and have a vision of what they want the school to represent there won't be a chance that the school will ever work through the challenges that they face or are facing. That's why I think that team work, and having a community within the teachers is so important. And it's sooo upsetting when you are out in certain situations and your opinion isn't valued or questioned. I've been in situations where I work with a child one to one and what I thought that could have been done was never said because they never say with me and spoke what I have noticed they just dealt with it themselves and sometimes even pulled me away from the child which in most cases is worst and the situation becomes even more challenging than it already was.

How do you deal when you see a situation present itself and you have a solution but you cannot give your opinion? Or your opinion isn't valued?

Chapters 5&6

On chapter 5 I was really interested on how the teachers were speaking to the children, and focusing on the empathy part. There are times were we forget and we go straight to assuming what a child wants and needs and what is really wrong with the child. I feel for Joey in this chapter because he has a certain routine and since the substitute didn't know the routine he didn't exactly get into trouble but he thought he was, so he ended up seeming like a troubled boy to the substitute because he wasn't doing what "he was supposed to be doing", which is not the substitutes fault either. But thats what I'm saying that as educators sometimes we don't ask in the right way and we can set off  child. Thats why I think the steps are a great thing to follow because if he would have asked "what are you working on"? instead of saying thats not what were supposed to be doing then maybe Joey would have reacted differently. Sometimes the problem is how we word things, and the vocabulary we use. Moving on to chapter 6 I think that Mrs. Woods is using very good strategies for Joey into helping him not lash out or act out in class. The way she takes the time going in early to help him go over assignments, I think as a future educator I think if I had a student similar to Joeys situation I will definitely rely on these strategies for my classroom. Even now working with 4 year olds I try using certain strategies to help my students into communicating with me so that they feel comfortable to work together on getting them on the right track.

Lost At School: Chapter 7

In response to Lilana's questions:

"When staff in a school are not all on the same page in regards to their goals, students success, and achievement, things are dysfunctional. Do you think this is important? Why or why not?" 

 I think this is very important. As we see in the book many of the staff was not on the same page and it had an poor affect on the classroom & school community. It seemed like once they began to plan together and figure out different approach & strategies it became more successful. 

Chapter 7:

What I took from this chapter is the idea of Plan B for every kid;  Plan B Between Two kids; Plan B in Groups.  I also like the focus on community building.  What really stood out to me was:  "If plan B is applied to every kid then it won't be viewed negatively" (188.) This chapters main idea was built around community focus and how the kids with behavioral challenges often find themselves outside looking in. (Pg.186-187.) I also like the group problem solving. It moves focus from general education to Special Education. The author writes about the reward-and punishment programs being unnecessary. Some good quotes from the chapter: 

"Good teaching means being responsive to the hand you've been dealt"

"Fair does not mean equal." 

"In our classroom everyone gets what they need, " and In our classroom, we help eachother."

I was very annoyed by Mr. Armstrong however I tried to reason with his point of view as well. What upset me is the fact that he has completely given up on Crystal. In terms of Joey,  I am glad to see things shifting from a blame game to actually putting a plan into process. Mrs. Woods and Mrs. Lowell can now offer Joey some of the support he will need to continue on the journey of a fruitful education. As for Travis, he is creating an environment that is dangerous for other's, and Mrs. Franco is a bit overwhelmed. She notices her flaws by always implementing Plan A. With students like Consuelo who are very shy, it seems like the staff is finding ways to allow all of the students voices and concerns be heard. 

Questions: 

 What was your thoughts about Mr. Armstrong giving Crystal 4 detention slips? 

 Do you think he could find another way to help Crystal refocus on staying in school? 

LOST AT SCHOOL 7-9

Chapter 7:

One thing that stood out to me from chapter seven was " Some kids are better served in smaller settings". This in particular stood out to me because I was one of those students who preferred to be in smaller groups and I learned better that way. I outgrew that once I was in third or fourth grade. Sometimes you are forced to outgrow it because its just something the teachers cannot accommodate all the time. Can you relate to this ? What way was best for you?

Chapter 8:
 One thing that stood out to me from chapter eight was " When things don't go as well as hoped, like in the case with challenging students, some parents may blame teachers, they will question your qualifications and attempt to impose solutions". This was rather bothersome to me just because I have seen it happen. Most of the responsibility in the classroom always falls on the teacher, and as much as you do your best to help every individual student sometimes it is still difficult, and I find it surprising that parent will question your qualifications when we all study 4+ years to simply get certified to become a teacher. Those are years full of knowledge, learning, and practice. Not years wasted. What is your reaction to this and how will you handle these situations when you become a teacher? If you are a teacher, how do you handle this?

Chapter 9:

As we come to an end on Joey's story and an endless amount of tips on how to be efficient when dealing with challenging students, one major thing that stood out to me. That was " What it looks like in each school is determined by that schools administrators, teachers, students, and parents working together towards common goals". This is so important because this is what makes the school feel like a united community. When staff in a school are not all on the same page in regards to their goals, students success, and achievement, things are dysfunctional. Do you think this is important? Why or why not?

LOST AT SCHOOL 4-6

Chapter 4:

One thing that stood out to me from chapter four was " Problems tend to be a little more complicated once you start talking about them, but if we don't start talking about them we'll never discover that". The reason why I choose this specific quote is because I notice that its hard to express something that seems like a problem/issue. Many times as teachers we are faced with this, so how will you speak about something whether it is about a "challenging" student, or anything in the classroom? How will you make it easier or more comfortable to speak about issues you are faced with or forced to deal with alone?

Chapter 5:

One thing that stood out to me from chapter five was "Your powers of observation and reflection of past instances in which the child had a similar problem should serve you here". The reason why I chose this was because sometimes when I speak to my classmates from other classes, they tell me that they don't understand why we need to do observations in a classroom as fieldwork and as a requirement for the class. We don't really notice how that helps us until we are faced with a situation we have seen before. We don't go to observations simply to satisfy a requirement bu tto help us learn and grow as future teachers and expand our knowledge on how to be more efficient leaders in a classroom. You learn new things that you may want to implement in your own classroom and you might also come across things you wouldn't want to do. How has observations/fieldwork helped you?

Chapter 6:

One thing that stood out to me from chapter six was " "In kids whose communication skills are more limited, developing a rudimentary vocabulary of concerns is still the goal". This is important to me because many times by following a curriculum and wanting to cover all the material in so little time we lose focus of things that are important and can help students not only for the moment but for their future as well. Have you seen a situation where a child has difficulty communicating things, but nothing is done to help?

LOST AT SCHOOL 1-3

Chapter 1:
One thing that stood out to me was "What do you do if conventional school discipline isn't working for kids with social, emotional, and behavioral challenges, the only reason to keep using it would be because it is working for the kids who do not have these challenges". This stood out to me because many times in school I see that people have gotten used to a certain curriculum or what to work the classroom that they don't try to make a change any year. What changes do you want to see in classrooms you may be observing or working at?

Chapter 2:

One thing that stood out to me was "It's the kids who have trouble shifting set who wind up getting told what to do most often". Many times teachers are blind to this and just see it it as a student being disruptive or disrespectful without analyzing things first and asking why they have to repeatedly tell them what to do. Have you seen this in a classroom?

Chapter 3:

In this chapter aside from the story that is unfolding, we are also given different lesson plans and options. Based on this, which plan would you use and why do you think it's efficient?

Lost At School: 5 & 6

What I took away from Chapters 5 & 6:


Talks about how adults often revert to Plan A, and most of the time it is because they had no true intentions of doing Plan B. Often times adults are not aware of what to say., especially as they begin trying to clarify a kid's concerns and simply returned to something more familiar. Adults are usually focused on their own concerns vs. than the kids concerns.


-Drilling Sheets


Empathy stage


represents a great opportunity to get things sorted out. (a kid may be confused about his/her concerns; it may the first time anyone's ever asked him/her what his concerns are, so the info may not be on tip of their tongue.)


Plan B supports this stage by focusing on clarifying and addressing the kids concerns as you clarify and address your own concerns.


Perfunctory Empathy- The tendency to rush through the Empathy strap quickly as possible, which has the effect of preventing adults from understanding the kids concerns or perspective.


talks about vague concerns leading to vague solutions.


You are not done with the Empathy stage until you have a clearest idea possible understanding of the kid's concerns or perspective. This is the information-seeking mode.


The author supports this with a few different scenarios that focus on Missing Steps, Dueling Solutions, and Steps Out Of Order, and Overreliance on Emergency B:


- Recess Concerns (Adult & Student Tanya)
- Circle time (Adult & Child)
- Partnering with classmates (Adult & Student Elena)
- Socializng concerns (Adult & Ahmad)
-Testing Concerns (Rodney & Adult)


Proactive B vs. Emergency B:


Proactive B- takes place under planned conditions, so you have time to prepare. It takes place under a calmer, less heated circumstances so the participants are more capable of info-sharing and reason discussion. It doesn't take place in front of the entire class, so it doesn't add pressure of being the center of attention and the work of the other kids isn't being disrupted.


The author writes about not wanting to abuse the use of Emergency B because you will end up doing more planning than you will actually need.


Plan C- Emergent circumstances
- temporary expectations to ensure that the other kids stay focused on the task at hand, and then return to the problem a few minutes/hours later under more ideal circumstances. (like in the Rodney/Adult scenario.)


The text is then supported by a Q & A section, which I like. It supports the teachers (adults) concerns and tries to give strategies that will be very helpful in my own classroom.


Bumps In the Road... The Story Continues


I am happy that Mrs. Woods and Joey are becoming more successful at working together, which will support the needs of both- Joey & and the classroom community. The use of the signals, and communication seem to be a good start. Dr .Bridgman notices that if Joey can tell Mrs. Woods his concerns or confusion through signals it will help Ms. Lowell as well. Ms. Lowell seems very involved and concern about Joey's progress. She is willing to re-arrange her schedule at work to meet with the staff, and Dr, Bridgman. I like how Mrs. Woods is now realizing that Joey is actually a normal child ,just with a few challenges. She discusses things over with her husband, and he seems to think she is giving Joey special treatment. I believe Mrs. Woods is attempting to use her teaching philosophies to help her work with Joey. As she states to her husband, Joey has been suspended many of times before- that communication is aiding towards a new relationship between them. She is discovering that simple assignments are not that "simple" to Joey. After talking with Joey- upon his arrival the next day she goes through his history folder and uses an completed assignment to support the days lesson. After a successful two weeks in Mrs. Woods classroom, Mr. Owens (the sub) pushed Joey to the edge, which caused Joey to walk out of class. His aggressive behavior provoked Joey to response by punching the locker. He wasn't suspended this time, and was able to explain what happened. It seems like Mr. Owens was using Plan A instead of B, which was interfering with the hard work that Mrs. Woods developed the last 2 weeks.


Icing On The Cake


More focus on Plan B, and making sure nothing happened in your first attempt at Plan B to decrease the kid's receptivity to your next attempt.
- Refers back to chapter 2; transition scenario( Teacher & Kelvin.)
- Direct Skills Training With A Collaborative Twist (Sann & Adult)
- Solving Problems Collaboratively With Kids With Lagging Language Processing And Communication Skills (Communicating About Unsolved Problems)


using ALSUP to identify unsolved problems, now you must find a way to get the students to communicate them. It proves some models to support generating communication and solutions.


- Differented Discipline


Q & A to support concerns and provide strategies.

(I stopped at "The Story Continues; Pg. 172)




Questions for Group:




1.) What was you reaction to how Mr. Owens (the substitute) handled things with Joey?


2.) Do you think he was reacting off of prior experience covering Mrs. Woods classroom?




3.) Do you think Joey's response was a reflection of Mr. Owens behavior?

Lost at school chapters 3 & 4

This chapter talks more in depth about the ALSUP. This is the worksheet that will help to guide you in the right direction to help student in your classroom with their challenging behaviors. Like I mentioned a bit on my previous blog post, do you think that you will have time to keep up with these sheets? In some case scenarios you will depending on the support you have in your classroom and I say this because when I tried this similar technique where we tracked our students outbursts and the they occurred if we didn't have enough support in the room sometimes it was impossible to sit there and right. But when I had those times that we didn't have support I would always have post it notes with me to quickly jot down what happened to set the child off and I would elaborate later on in the sheet. On the other hand I think that if the teachers in the room are on the same page and are collaborating together than I think it will be fine.another topic that was spoken about was "kids do well if they can" meaning if a kid could do well he would. this topic was touched upon because there are many times where educators ask themselves why is this student so disrespectful and we start assuming and making assumptions of our own without really trying to figure out if the student needs extra support and get down to the skills that the student lacks. Thats why we have to come up with ways on how to help the challenging students instead of making it our own assumption, which usually shows us were wrong.



question; As educators do you feel that there are times you make a wrong assumption about a student?

lost at school chapter 1 & 2

When I began to read the scenario where Joey was in it brought me back to some experiences that I saw when I was in school, not really with my experience as a teacher in the room since I work with smaller children, but I do see similar characteristics in some children. In my opinion the teacher should have gone to his desk to reassure him that he must listen and be attentive in class in order to hear the directions for the class assignment, Not ask him to go to her desk because thinking back to one of our class discussions the professor mentioned that the walk to your desk can be embarrassing and humiliating to the student. Now after I would have reassured him and make sure he knew what to do, if he decided other wise thats when I would have called for more support, although I know its really hard as  a human being not even a teacher to keep your cool after you have explained the assignment and he was not listening.

Chapter 2 spoke about having a list of unsolved problems and how to solve them, I think thats a great idea because you can target all of your unsolved problems one at a time, and be organized instead of making your own self have many things in your head. Last year I was working with a child who had social emotional and behavioral problems. So we tried by having a sheet of what sets him off kind of like the problem solving plan chart on page 33, the time, and the action. This helped us see that most of his behavioral outbursts were occurring during transitions. So we created a chart for his use to take with him during the day knowing what comes first and next, which he had with him and he knew it was his responsibility to keep track and of course we guided him throughout the day to keep him updated.


Question: Do you think you'll be able to keep up with these sheets if you have like 5 kids who have behavioral challenges? Will it be easy?

Lost At School: Chapters 3 & 4

I agree with Wendy:  "I think regardless of solution, it is important to be empathetic towards your students and that they know you care about them and their needs or feelings."

Chapter 3: 

Lesson Plans- Focuses on the 3 options for addressing unsolved problems. Plan A, B, and C.

• Plan A, is when adults solve a problem unilaterally,  typically by imposing their will. (The most popular way for adults to handle problems, which is unmet expectations for the kids. Doesn't only occur in a school environment.)

•Plan B, is when adults solve problems collaboratively,  as partners. The book follows this type of planning. (I agree that this approach may be the most beneficial.)

•Plan C, involves setting aside a particular unsolved problem, at least temporarily. (Plan C, helps caregivers to prioritize. For those unsolved problems that cannot be addressed all at once,  these problem are set aside and both the student & caregiver are more available to work on higher-priority problems.)

I like how the author gives an example of "Plan C" Teacher: Student dialogue. 

The Q & A section was very informative,  and the answers gave great detail for each question. 

As the story continues… Chapter 3 & 4:

Joey's preparing to return from suspension. The principal and Joey's mother seem to express their take on what has been occurring in the classroom with Joey. Mrs. Galvin,  the principal, is in the position of enforcing a safe learning environment for both Joey,  his teacher-Mrs.  Woods,  and his peers. Her approach is very strong,  causing Joey's mother- Ms. Lowell to become defensive. I think Mrs. Galvin could have approach Joey's mom in a more supportive way; still sticking by school codes of conduct. Her approach seemed more confrontational rather than supportive. Shifting focus regarding her marital issues was a bit overboard. Mrs. Woods recognizes that she could have possibly handled things much more differently; in which I would have to agree. She is frustrated, but the consequences are creating a worse learning environment for both herself,  and the other students. She has more pity for Ms. Lowell,  rather than Joey. She feels like the school must pick up the pieces of his behavioral issues. She refers to his situation as "poor kid" then comments to Mr. Armstrong "could you imagine going home to that every night" (in reference to Joey.) In these two chapters,  we find out the source of Joey's behavior stems from embarrassment,  in not understanding assignments is quite interesting. Had Plan B & C been in affect a long time ago,  maybe different behaviors would display. I don't think Joey would really kill another student,  however- I agree with Mrs. Galvin it is not acceptable to even suggest that short of threat. Mrs. Galvin seems overwhelmed by Joey's behavioral issues. Chasing him in a school parking lot is not something quite entertaining. Dr. Bridgman brings up really good points,  and I am glad he can give everyone a different perspective of what seems to be going on. He also introduces the new factors that may support solving Joey's unsolved problems. The other staff seems some what apprehensive. It seems Mrs. Woods and Joey have come to a better plan to make his day more successful- with learning. 

Post #1 { L O S T @ S C H O O L}

As I began to read this book really made me reflect on that idea of an article that I read last semester about “The Blueberry Story”. None of us are perfect parents or teachers and many of these kids are born with innate personalities that are extremely hard for anyone to deal with. Sure, we can try our best to parent/teacher around these personalities, but I think there so much to do on training parents/teachers out there on how to do so. Definitely, it is not an easy task for teachers who have not received the proper training to help or instruct students with different behaviors.

- “Kids do well if they can” – they already know how we want them to behave thus rewards and punishments have the opposite effects. These kids are misunderstood and over punished.

- A kid shouldn’t need a diagnosis to access help.

- They often cry or withdraw when they don’t have the skills to communicate.

- “Shelving emotions so they can think rationally is a difficult skill”.

- They are functioning at a much younger developmental level.

- It is hard to teach flexibility if they are inflexible themselves.

Greene states that these kids would do well if they could but for some reason they are “lagging skills” to be able to do so. I never really thought about that before. The fact that they are behaviorally at a two-year old age level – Sometimes, teachers consistently complains that their students seemed to be at that age level, not even considering the fact that this actually was the case and he needed to learn those behavior skills. That made sense to me. We help many kids with learning difficulties or otherwise, why couldn’t we treat behavioral difficulties with the same insight.

Question - Are you agree with the statement that some students behave a certain age level for the reason that he didn't learn those skills at the age he was supposed to do so?

Lost at School chapters 3-4

Chapter three discusses the different plans that can be used when dealing with a child. Plan A is what is typically used by most adults in which they impose their authority. Plan B is the main focus of the chapters because it involves a collobroative problem solving approach to deal with the problems.  I think this was quite interesting because it involves both parties and allows for communication to occur between the two.  However, I wonder if kids really know what they need or are looking for from a collaboration.  I see how this can be useful when dealing with a challenging child who is a bit older but I wonder how it can be used to deal with a challenging child at a younger age.  In the story about Joey, he has multiple teachers so he is in middle school.  My question to my group is how do you think that this same plan can be modified and used for Joey if he was younger.  I understand the principals hesitation with this new idea of problem solving because although I can see and understand how it can work it is something new for her.  Chapter four discusses extensively Plan B and the different forms of Plan B which can be Proactive or Emergency. I think in order to get to a point where you can use proactive B there would have to be many plan A or C or emergency B because you wouldn't know to use it. There are three steps that the author talks about which make up plan B; the first step is empathy.  I think regardless of solution, it is important to be empathetic towards your students and that they know you care about them and their needs or feelings.  The next step is to define the problem in which the teacher says what her concerns are which I think is important to do anyway.  For example, when the students in the class I work with talk while the announcements are on, the teacher explains her concern. She tells them why it is important for her to be able to hear the anncouncments and that it is for everyone's safety.  Voicing your concerns is something that should already be done. The last step is to come up with a solution, adult and child. As I mentioned earlier I wonder how this would work at younger ages.  It is important that the child feels like he or she has a say and is active in his learning and growth.  It seems like Ms. Woods and Joey were able to come up with an agreeement so now it is a matter of sticking to it.