C.Y.A.

Or, call me the Data Bitch.

So PC#1 got himself sent to a Superintendent’s Hearing for trying to slam that kid’s face through the bus window. All of his teachers had to fill out a narrative: me, Fashionista, and all of the specialists. Fashionista wasn’t really sure what to write since he’d been in her class for less than a month. She wrote hers first, and asked me if it was all right. It was, and she jogged my memory about more things to say. (I guess I had blocked some things out. ) Hers was one side of one page, handwritten. Mine ended up a typed, single-spaced, two-and-a-half page masterpiece.

Elementary Level Anecdotal Report

Student: PC#1 Grade: 5 DOB: XX/XX/XX
Teacher: Ms. Institutrice Date: March 2009

Academic Performance Levels
Reading: PC#1 brings a lot of background knowledge to texts. He is able to explain what he is reading about or learning. He did well with all of the skills we worked on. He is working on telling a summary in order, using only important details. He would benefit from reading novels for 30 minutes daily.

Writing: PC#1 has good ideas but has a hard time getting them on paper. He can’t/won’t make a plan so his writing comes out very disorganized.

Math: PC#1 struggled with some of the new 5th grade concepts because he did not engage in lessons. (He would usually be looking for supplies during the D.I. lesson, and then did not want the help from his cooperative learning group.) PC#1 also argued a lot with his math group and did not learn much from them. He refuses to check his work, even with a calculator (like we practice almost daily in class) and therefore does not catch any careless mistakes. On the other hand, sometimes he could figure out his own way to solve problems; they were more work, but correct, and he could explain his thinking.

Peer Relations
PC#1 has a few close, loyal friends. However, some of their parents have expressed concerns about their children getting in trouble when they are around PC#1. PC#1 intimidates other students through his aggressive body language, words and actions. The other students in my class freely admit they are afraid of him. (It took two months for them to tell me that he was pretending to stab me or cursing at me when I turned around because they were afraid of retaliation.) Occasionally PC#1 showed a caring, sensitive side toward other students by offering to help them with their work or to carry things.

Work Habits
PC#1 is extremely slow to start working. It took him almost 30 minutes to unpack every morning. He is disorganized with his supplies, but even if I provided what he needed, he still took a long time to start working. He rarely finished assignments, even tests. He does no homework. (We did a Veterans Day project, which was an at-home interview and poster, and he was supposed to do the alternate project since he had no military members in his family. The due date came and went, and Principal Pretty offered to be interviewed by him. PC#1 was very excited; he did the interview, but then never finished the project or turned any of it in.) He also does not read for [school-wide reading program]. (He was on Step 48 out of 400 at the end of the second MP.) Overall, he is extremely disorganized, even with daily lessons in class about where to put things, and he loses all of his papers.

Strengths
PC#1 is extremely bright. He catches on quickly to new concepts. He asks interesting, complex questions when he does not understand something. If he is confused, he really wants to be clear and will verify his thinking until he is sure he understands. PC#1 makes connections between texts and his life experiences.

Needs (Weaknesses)
PC#1 is argumentative; he has to be right and have the last word. He has a flippant attitude. He can be antagonistic and intimidating toward others, especially students. He shows no remorse when caught breaking a school rule. His actions are never his “choice”; he doesn’t see the cause and effect relationship between what he chooses to do and the punishment. He is extremely bright but does not push himself to really excel. PC#1 is very angry (and he admits it – he told me he plays township football to “get out his anger”.) PC#1 lacks impulse control. He has no support at home.

What adjustments have you made to accommodate the student’s needs?
1. PC#1 did not have any supplies at the beginning of the year, and his backpack was falling apart at the seams. I gave him folders and two binders, and also gave him one of the free backpacks (including some supplies) from the Faculty Room.
2. PC#1 had preferential seating so I could see him, so he could see the board, and so as not to be near someone who could be a distraction for him.
3. PC#1 received more chances (re: behavior) than other students. I gave him reminders and suggestions before he got an actual warning that had to be written down.
4. I made a conscious effort not to argue with him, to simply state the task or the rule in a calm voice. If he spoke to me in an aggressive manner, I asked him to please change his tone. (He usually did.)
5. As an incentive to behave, I offered him the chance to be in a math group with his best friend; they both promised they would behave, but after two days they had to be separated again.
6. I initiated daily communication with PC#1’s father, but PC#1 “lost” his behavior/homework charts. (They were later found in his backpack – 8 weeks’ worth.)
7. I sign all students’ homework charts every day to make sure everything is copied down and to write how many warnings they received. If PC#1 did not bring me his homework chart, I asked for it and occasionally filled it out for him. (For other students I did not ask because I knew their parents would ask them why I didn’t sign it.)
8. There is a behavior chart on the back of the homework chart where students write down what time they got a warning, what rule they broke, and what they did. There is also a box for the parents to write down what the consequences will be at home if a student makes it to 3rd Warning/Time Out.
9. I use the school’s Behavior Program tickets to reward students for making good choices.
10. I also have my own reward system based on not earning any “warnings” during the day. Students earn a warning by breaking one of the school rules, and they earn a sticker by not getting any warnings. PC#1 lost his sticker sheet several times; students are supposed to buy a new one with tickets, but I gave him a new one twice because the program wasn’t going to work if he didn’t have the sheet. When I counted on my chart, he should have had 24 stickers and 20 would fill the sheet to earn a prize from me. Even though he was vocally envious of the other students when they got their reward, he did not buy into the program enough to keep track of the sticker sheet.
11. PC#1 had a friend to help him pack his backpack to make sure he had the right materials for homework.
12. For the last two weeks he was in my class, I filled out a daily behavior chart that tracked his behavior in 30-minute increments. He did try harder to behave because he knew I was going to write it down and show it to Principal Pretty.

People I showed this to seemed surprised that I said such nice things about PC#1 when writing about his strengths. Just because he didn’t behave and gave me a physical pain in my neck doesn’t mean I couldn’t see him objectively. He is a smart kid, and he does have redeeming qualities. He just chooses not to use them.

I love writing these kinds of reports. I don’t know why. I think part of it comes from having to write detailed comments like this on every report card for my first two years of teaching, and then to go to other schools and people are always impressed. (I couldn’t believe it when I received a student’s report card who transferred from another school in the district, and her teacher had written, “Topaz is a great girl! I wish she would participate more.” This girl can’t do math and can’t spell, and that’s all you have to say? WTF?)

When I gave this report to Principal Pretty (who actually said, “Two pages? I have to read it out loud into the record! Looks like I won’t get back ‘til after twelve.” Really? Don’t you want all the information you can get?), I also included twelve homework/behavior charts (only two of which he had put his own name on), 14 pages of handwritten daily anecdotal records covering six weeks (including the day I wrote down every single things he did, and it took 2 pages, both sides), and two weeks’ worth of behavior charts that recorded how he followed the school rules in 30 minute increments.

This is why I save everything. Like I said, call me the Data Bitch.