Big Boy Fight
A female student teacher takes her sophomore boys physical education class out to the football field to play a game of football. During the middle of game play, she notices that a couple of the students begin bickering back and forth with one another; the student teacher unsure if they were being serious or just messing around with each other. Just a few short seconds later the two were swapping punches and angry words. She looked at the 6’2”, 300-pound student and the student who wore a probation ankle monitor, wondering what to do.
Questions to consider
1. Should the student teacher attempt to break them up? Why?
2. Should she have another student try to break the fighting students up? Why?
3. Should she send a student back into the building to get help from a security guard? Why?
4. Should she just let them fight it out and not do anything? Why?
Potty Pants
In a kindergarten class students were split into groups to bowl on lanes laid out across the gym floor. A student was a “pin catcher” who stood at the back of the lane ready to catch the pins that the bowling ball were to knock down. Students rotated positions around the lane after each person bowled. This student came and tugged on my leg and whispered with fear in her eyes that she had peed her pants.
Questions to consider
1. What should you tell the student and why?
2. Do you draw other students’ attention to the matter? Why?
3. How should the situation be dealt with?
Racial Issues
Three Hispanic students were not wearing the proper shoes to class. The student teacher asked politely for them to change into their tennis shoes for class and the students refused to listen. She informed the students that they were going to lose their daily points if they did not change. The students responded by calling her racist.
Questions to consider
1. Should the student teacher threaten some more? Why?
2. Should the students be directly sent to the Principal’s office right away?
3. What should the student teacher say or do to the students?
Pregnant Student
While teaching a sophomore female physical education class a student approaches you after the class has been released to “dress out.” The student confides in you that they are pregnant, haven’t told anyone (especially not their parents!), and are concerned about what they should do. For today’s lesson you have planned a cardio and resistance training lesson. How do you handle the situation in/out of class?
Questions to consider
-The student’s privacy? Does her age make a difference?
-What kind of activity is safe for her to do?
-Does holding her out of activity let the other students know something is up?
-Who should you inform? (if anyone) Would this violate the students trust or is it you’re obligation to do so?
-Who would you look to for advice?
-What do you believe is the most professional thing to do?
Teambuilding activity escalates quickly!
For today’s lesson you have planned teambuilding activities for the class to participate in at the high schools ropes course. You have randomly divided up your students and guided them through the different stations. During the last activity of the day you have the entire class work together to solve a challenge. As the activity progresses a heated conversation escalates to the point one student directs homophobic slurs at a classmate. When you interject firmly for the student to cease and make it known this behavior is unacceptable. The student responds to your statement by “outing” the student in front of the class, the “ousted” student responds by attacking the other. Your teambuilding activity has turned into a cage fight, how do you handle the situation?
Questions to consider
-How do you break up the fight?
-Would you do it differently for male/female students?
-After the fight is broken up what is the next course of action?
-Remember you are hundreds of yards away from the school.
-What do you do with the rest of the class while you’re dealing with the two students?
-Your school a zero tolerance policy when fights occur, would this change how you dealt with the situation?
-How do you debrief the class after the incident?
Low on the totem pole
While student teaching at the high school you have planned a soccer unit to teach for the next two weeks. In the middle of your unit you notice that the weather forecast predicts thunderstorms and you may be unable to go outside for that lesson. No worries your mentor teacher informs you that the JV gym is reserved for your class when inclement weather occurs. On the day the weather man predicted thunderstorms they actually happen and you’ve just been notified that morning your mentor teacher has called in sick. You set up your equipment in the gym and go back to your desk to grade until first period begins. When you show up to greet your first period class the head football coach also has his class in the JV gym and it looks like his lesson plan is dodge-ball. He asks matter-of-factly, “Hey are you using the gym today? I had some games planned for my class and was tired of the fitness center?” How do you handle this situation?
Questions to consider
-Your mentor teacher is not there to delegate. Remember you’re the new student teacher, do you think this matters?
-Do you forget about soccer for the day?
-What if this is a part of your teacher work sample? (ESU requirement for student teaching)
-Do you join classes and play dodge-ball?
-Do you change your plans and go to the fitness center?
-Do you confront the tenured coach/teacher about what class has the space for the day?
-If he responds negatively/condescending what would be your next course of action?
The cheeky student
Your mentor teacher has just given you full control over the class and you are midway through your cardio unit. While in the fitness center you have the classes complete an interval training workout on the treadmills. While explaining the lessons objectives and concepts you notice one student not paying attention. When you address her inattention the student begrudgingly listens. You then tell the students to begin warming up on the treadmills. Everyone hops on and starts walking except for the inattentive student. When you try to positively motivate the student they give you the “finger” in front of the class. How do you handle this blatant act of defiance?
Questions to consider
-The mentor teacher is back in the gym office grading papers.
-You still need to conduct and supervise the lesson while the students are on the treadmills
-Do you think you would lose respect in the class if you didn’t address the defiant student?
-What do you believe is the best course of action?
-Detention
-Saturday school
-More Cardio
-Stern talk
The Perils of Social Media
While student teaching at the high school you have built an excellent rapport with the students. Class is going great and you’re getting along with the entire departments faculty. In your freshman health class you notice one of the students keeps attempting to flirt with you. Initially you brush it off and ignore it thinking the student is just being the “class clown.” The students’ comments become more blatant as time goes on and now some other students in the class are egging it on. You are still able at this point to squash the notion and get the class back on track quickly. When you get home one night and check your Facebook, a nightly ritual. You notice a friend request and inbox message from the student. It seems the situation must be addressed, how do you go about it?
Questions to consider
-When, where, and how do you feel is the best approach to resolving the issue?
-What do you do with your social media accounts?
-Should you address it to the whole class or just the individual?
-What is a proactive solution to this scenario? (before it got to the point of friend request/inbox message)
-Do gender roles change your response?
-Your mentor teacher has told you to deal with it and offers no other support. Does this change your response?
One Students Hygiene…The Whole Classes Problem
While teaching physical education at a middle school you notice one of the students has trouble working with other students. The student comes to class with wrinkled cloths, matted hair, and a distinct “ripe” odor. It gets to the point where you have heard other students poke fun at him and make jokes at his expense. When you ask other teachers in the building about the student they tell you it’s nothing “abnormal” for this school and that he comes from a “tough” situation. What can you do to help? If anything?
Questions to consider
-Do you just make sure the other students don’t bully him
-Just because other teachers dismiss the situation as nothing “abnormal” does this mean you shouldn’t address it?
-What’s the most discrete way to handle the situation that doesn’t embarrass the student?
-Do you contact the parents?
-What can the schools guidance counselor do?
Angry Kid!
A 4th grade student who has had a history of serious anger issues starts to get irritated by a question the teacher asks. The teacher, who is alone, notices the child starting to trigger and he begins to yell and flip out. He starts throwing things and begins pushing over bookshelves and chairs.
-What is the very first thing you do as a teacher?
Questions to consider
-What do you do with the other students?
-Who do you call?
-What do you say to your other students after the incident is over?
-Is there a proactive solution to this problem?
A Big Fat Phony
For the final project in your physical education class you are having the students create activity notebooks. The students are to come up with 5 original activities for 5 different units that were presented that semester (a total of 30 activities). This is the summative assessment for your course (assessing NASPE standard #5). While you are grading the final projects you notice that 3 of the notebooks are very similar, in fact they are identical. It now turns into a case for the Hardy Boys, what’s your first move detective?
Questions to consider
- What are the ramifications for plagiarism?
-A zero on the project?-Fail the course?
-Re-do?- Do you follow your schools handbook on “academic dishonesty?”
- Your co-op teacher wants you to handle this “in-house” how do you go about approaching the 3 students?
-One of the students is the original creator of the activities that where copied. Does he get the same punishment as the other two?
-The one student claims he, “Had no idea they copied him!”
- All 3 stand firm that it was their work.