Margaret Youmans

Carleton College Educational Studies Philosophy of Education Resume Subject Matter Competence Service Learning Component Working with Parents Integrating Technology Experiential Learning in Classrooms American Indian Education Case Study of a Student Model Lesson Plan/ Performance Packages Self-Reflection Pieces/ Professional Summary Student Teaching Observation Record

CASE STUDY OF A STUDENT Sometimes, it is more difficult to get to know the quieter, introverted children than those who have something to tell you every few minutes. One little girl, who could make herself almost invisible in the classroom taught me more than what I tried to give her. I’ll call her “Daria.” At first, Daria spoke with a one-inch voice. She risked talking only with the shyest and quietest girls in class. As the weeks passed, Daria made more attempts to speak with a three, four, and seven-inch voice. It wasn’t until I asked the students to draw a picture to measure oral comprehension when Daria began to shine. She is a gited artist. As she turned in more class assignments, I realized she was a spectacular doodler, and an emerging cartoonist. Still, a few things worried me about Daria. She was often late to school and she did not turn in homework. I was still waiting to receive her first large unit project, a timeline on early Minnesota. One day, I realized she could not read a clock. An eleven year-old who could not tell time? I was stunned, grateful I had discovered this, and perplexed with how to handle this problem. When parent-teacher conferences came, I met her mother, a soft-spoken but articulate woman, and her two rowdy younger brothers. I expressed my concern about Daria’s homework and gave her mom detailed directions for the project. A week later, I learned that Daria and her family were homeless. She and her brothers lived in a Minneapolis shelter, and took a taxi to school most days. It wasn’t until I attended a staff meeting with a presentation by the MPS coordiators for Homeless and Highly Mobile students that I started to understand Daria better from this perspective: - Homeless and highly mobile (HHM) students must keep good attendence records for families to stay eligible for housing in local shelters. I now understood why Daria’s mother was concerned that we were accurate with our attendence records (and that Daria’s tardies be excused). - Several HHM children arrive to school via taxis, paid for by the school district. - HHM children often lack a sense of time. Some don’t understand deadlines and/or read clocks because parents are less inclined to teach time, since is is less relevant. - HHM children in shelters live with their composite families in very small rooms. Could this be why Daria’s biggest pet peeve was her little brother’s singing? When Daria finally turned in her timeline, it was magnificent––the best in the class. I marvelled at the ways she went above and beyond the assignment––attaching little sculptures and information booklets to the timeline. Below is a photo of her work: Being homeless did not define Daria. Few of her peers, if any, knew. She did not have any behavior problems. And she seemed to love school. She had a creative spirit and artistic talent. Whenever Daria asked me for extra work, I made sure she had additional art supplies. She motivated me to incorporate art into my curriculum whenever possible. Below is a bulletin board of native art my students colored (Daria drew the picture of “Tranquility”). Daria taught me that sometimes the quietest and shyest students have the most resilient spirits in the classroom.