Somebody Else's Kids Assignment

Somebody Else's Kids by Torey Hayden (1981) is a fictional book that depicts a teacher’s experience educating four students with vastly different educational needs within one classroom. One student, Boo, is autistic and has difficulty connecting on a basic level with the world around him (Hayden, 1981). Claudia, is an extremely bright twelve-year-old that suffers from depression and finds herself pregnant (Hayden, 1981). Lori is a student that has the ability to learn and comprehend information but is unable to read or write well because she suffered a traumatic brain injury when she was a young child (Hayden, 1981). The last student is Tomaso, a boy that witnessed his father’s murder, has been juggled through foster homes, and who has severe anger issues (Hayden, 1981). Tomaso is not meeting his educational goals and levels for his age because of bouncing from foster home to foster home (Hayden, 1981).

At any point in time, we as educators could easily encounter students within our classroom setting that would require modifications and accommodations in order to successfully complete their assignments. All students, even those with disabilities, are to be educated in the least restrictive environment and this falls under FAPE (Wright, P. W., & Wright, P. D., 2011). The Individuals with Disabilities Act of 2004 (IDEA) amended the Education of All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 and shifted the focus to the individual needs of the student and offered protections to the student and their families (Wright, P.W., & Wright, P.D., 2011). IDEA 2004 helps students become better prepared for life outside of the education system (Wright, P. W., & Wright, P. D., 2011).

Claudia provides an interesting situation that I could very well encounter in my classroom. Although she is younger than the children I teach, teen pregnancy is something very real in our world. Depression is also something I have experienced within my classroom. Claudia is a very withdrawn student and has difficulty reaching out and connecting with others, especially in her new environment of a special education classroom (Hayden, 1981). In fact, based on her educational abilities, she is improperly placed in a special education classroom and should be placed in a mainstream classroom. However, she needs supports in place that can support her mental well-being. She was placed in the special education classroom to “hide” her from society since teen pregnancy was not commonly accepted during the time the book was written.

Having Claudia in a special education classroom could possibly pose a negative effect on her classwork. Independent work, while is important, is not preparing Claudia for the real world and she is not developing 21^st century skills that she needs to be successful. Claudia spends most of her instructional time working independently, only interacting with the class she is in as a mentor or motherly figure (Hayden, 1981). She is much older than other students, middle school versus elementary school so she is learning very different curriculum. Since the teacher has students that require more individualized attention, I would request for Claudia to be removed from the special education classroom and placed in a mainstream classroom. Once there, I do not believe that Claudia would need to have accommodations made for her learning outcomes. However, as a chemistry teacher, Claudia would anticipate laboratory experiences. While most laboratory encounters in the classroom pose no immediate health risk, as a pregnant mother, additional care would need to go into planning labs. If the chemicals being used posed a threat to pregnant women, then Claudia would need to have an alternate activity. While this activity would likely be less hands on, the learning outcomes would be the same as the other students. This is an example of an accommodation for Claudia because the way the material is presented or learned is different but the expectations of learning remain the same (The Understood Team, 2014).

Another problem to be addressed for Claudia is her battle with depression. What appears to be tricky, is that her parents are unable to see the signs and are somewhat unwilling to admit that not all is good with Claudia (Hayden, 1981). In Claudia’s situation, I would recommend a conference with the school counselor, psychologist (if applicable), principal, teachers and parents in order to devise a plan to help Claudia receive the help that she needs. Unfortunately, sometimes help does not come until a traumatic event takes place, which happens with Claudia. While the parents are asked to look into routes to help Claudia, Claudia eventually attempts suicide unsuccessfully (Hayden, 1981.) This is when it is finally agreed that Claudia needs additional support and she begins to see a therapist.

As Claudia’s teacher, I would recommend her to be evaluated for either an IEP or 504. I believe that she would more readily qualify for a 504 because although she has a disability in depression, her learning progress is not effected (Bennett & Frank, 2009). Having a 504, accommodations could be made that help support her depression. For example, she might be able to receive in school therapy or could have a pass that would allow her to speak with a counselor at any time she felt necessary. It is important for the school, therapist, and family to work together to make sure that Claudia is supported in all areas of her life. A potential issue for Claudia is that she would need to be closely monitored and most if not all of her teachers would know about her depression. Another issue is bullying that she might encounter, whether over her depression or the fact that she is a teenage mother-to-be. Bullying could lead to isolation and increasing the affects her depression has on her.

Finally, Claudia would need supports in place to help her with her pregnancy. A 504 could also support this by providing Claudia with accommodations for food throughout the day as needed. It would also be important to provide Claudia with access to a support group that includes students in similar situations, either during pregnancy or after pregnancy (Hayden, 1981). Another potential issue, or drawback, would be the amount of time Claudia would need to be away from school if her baby is born during the school year. This could significantly impact her learning. In order to keep her on track, I would provide her parents with materials for her to complete at home in order to stay up on her school work.

I believe that Claudia would pose many personal challenges for me. First, I would need to make sure that I treated her no different than the other students. I think it is natural to want to accommodate someone who is pregnant but I would need to be cautious because other students might see this as favoritism. Another challenge might be my inability to connect to Claudia. Not that I feel like I could not connect with her but that she might not let me connect to her. I think it is important to build meaningful and real relationships with our students, relationships that allow students to build trust and feel comfortable within my classroom. This might be difficult with Claudia since she is withdrawn and does not seem to want to connect with others. However, this is something that would need to be worked at with her and something that might take a significant amount of time to accomplish. Finally, I would probably become very vested in her personally because of her pregnancy situation. While I do not immediately think that this is inappropriate, I would need to be careful that this does not creep into the way I instruct her in my classroom. It would also be important to make sure I am clear on my school districts policy in the event that Claudia would reveal something to me, specifically about suicide.

Somebody Else’s Kids was a really interesting read to me, a book that I found difficult to put down. It offered an interesting perspective on working with students with differing needs. Although the book is fictional, many of the strategies the author discusses are rooted in fact. Having the student attached to the various strategies allowed me to see a perspective that I would not have unless I encountered a similar student in my classroom. 

References:

Bennett, A., & Frank, L. (2009, January/February). Special education process: IEP vs.504 plan. 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter. Retrieved August 10, 2016, from http://www.davidsongifted.org/Search-Database/entry/A10671

Hayden, T. (1981). Somebody else’s kids. New York, NY: Avon Books.

The Understood Team. (2014). Accommodations: What they are and how they work. Retrieved August 10, 2016, from https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/treatments-approaches/educational-strategies/accommodations-what-they-are-and-how-they-work

Wright, P. W., & Wright, P. D. (2011, November 29). The History of Special Education Law - Wrightslaw. Retrieved August 10, 2016, from http://www.wrightslaw.com/law/art/history.spec.ed.law.htm