Chapter 3

When looking at the high school case study, I notice that a code of behavior and a sense of motivation seem to be nonexistent. There is a lack of interest in the classroom and on the subject as a whole. Students who do not seem interested in learning about the course at all may have a lack of personal interest or motivation, which in turn reflects onto those around them. When some students do not care to pay attention or respect the procedures, it can affect the atmosphere of the entire classroom. While in this class many of the problems come from the majority of the class, I would also look specifically at the three boys who appear to be causing many of the problems directly. When these students openly mock students who are trying, or openly refuse to obey the classroom procedures which everyone is expected to follow, they make an example to the rest of the class. When this happens I must look at why students do not seem to be interested or understand the importance of the subject, or why they feel they don’t need to comply with standard set for everyone else. These students might be behaving in this way because they are going through a period of discovering their own identity. They are willing to chance risky behavior and growing confident in those decisions, because they searching for what they can and cannot do as they grow older. The riskier behavior they achieve, and get away with without consequences, lets them know what they are capable of performing. In order to help with this confused sense of self, I would like to explore perspective taking with the boys in the class. By sitting down and addressing that their behavior is influencing not only each other, but the classroom environment as a whole, I would that they would see they are being destructive to the learning environment of every student around them. Since they are at a point where they are gaining recognition that people are not always are of why they do the things they do, I would they would make this realization about themselves and put a stop to it. If there is another underlying problem, I would offer that they tell me about it from their own perspective, then explain how that might look from another. Lastly, I would hope that they would use their increasing moral reasoning to feel they are causing a disservice to the classroom and do something to stop it. I would reinforce the idea to them that they are smart, caring individuals who will be helping the classroom society as a whole by behaving in a productive manner.