This week's classroom hours were mostly spent working one-on-one with a particularly troublesome student. The teacher warned me that me that this student had been having problems in the classroom. Well, he was causing most the problems in the class. I could tell that he was hungry for attention from the other students, and seemed to have an emotional need that wasn't being fulfilled. I quietly observed his behaviors. They ranged from yelling out comments in class (some of which were inappropriate) to asking for unnecessary help.
It was easy to see that the teacher was losing patience. Even the students were flashing glares of annoyance making comments such as "that was mean" or "be quiet". Because of his behavioral issues, he was separated from the rest of the class. He was assigned to sit in the very back of the room, and he was the only student on his row. Although he wasn't separated on the basis of race, the separation brought the "separate but equal" doctrine to mind. I realize that the separation might have be necessary for the safety and well-being of the other students. However, I couldn't help but wonder how his being separate from the rest of the class affected the label he put on himself along with the label other kids attached to him. This label can act as a self-fulfilling prophecy and affect the mental, social, and emotional development of the individual. Separating the individual from the rest of the class is likely to reinforce that label. While I don't know the best way to handle such a situation, I believe that as future educators it is important to build up our students and give them each an equal opportunity to succeed.
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