Today while my
teacher was being observed by our principal, I was trying to sit next to
students who I knew normally act out or can’t focus. There is about 3-4
students who I know I need to watch out for when my teacher is teaching
but also while I’m teaching. There was this one student who
normally doesn’t act out or need much redirection from the teacher but today
was different. This student has asthma and doesn’t get enough sleep
every night. He comes into school very tired for the most part he can
stay awake. Today he kept falling asleep and I continuously needed to
tell the student next to him to wake him up. I decided my attention
would be best focused on him so that I could make sure he was paying
attention rather than falling asleep and losing concentration from
the entire lesson. Nothing was working to keep him awake; sitting on
a chair to the side, having him stand up in the back of the classroom,
getting a drink of water, and even having him run a couple laps
around the track inside. Every time he returned to the class room he would
just fall back asleep and it was very difficult to wake him up.
He wasn’t able to pay attention to the lesson and when the teacher
asked him to repeat the directions or try to do the work at their
seats; he wasn’t able to do it. I had to keep taking him out in the
hallway and helping him but it made me realize, there isn’t always going to
be an aid in the classroom for me when I have my own classroom. What
am I supposed to do if/when this happens?
It made me realize that when you have a student that isn’t paying attention because they are falling asleep, or distracted by others, or cant stop moving, you cant stop the whole lesson and focus on what the bad kids are doing. Even reinforcing the good kids behavior doesn’t work on these students who cannot concentrate. It’s hard when I realized that there isn’t always going to be an aid to help me take the student out of the class or to sit next to the student when they are acting out or having a very difficult time redirecting themselves at such a young age. If I or the teacher would have told the student to go lie down so that he can rest, then the whole class would’ve acted tired as well so that’s not an option when you’re alone in the classroom. It is times like these that I start thinking abut what I will do in the future if this happens. Maybe I would have the whole entire class stand up and do the wiggles to get all of their energy out and to wake up those who cannot seem to stay awake. I think I would also want to ask parents if I am allowed to give their child an apple juice or orange juice to help them wake up and give them some energy when they are feeling tired or out of it. It is very easy to spot who is actually tired or who is faking it to get special treatment. One thing that worked for this student was quietly telling him that I will give him a sticker if he can stay awake for the entire class and show me he is listening. I’m glad I experienced this event because it made me think and reflect on what I would do for the future in my own classroom.
It made me realize that when you have a student that isn’t paying attention because they are falling asleep, or distracted by others, or cant stop moving, you cant stop the whole lesson and focus on what the bad kids are doing. Even reinforcing the good kids behavior doesn’t work on these students who cannot concentrate. It’s hard when I realized that there isn’t always going to be an aid to help me take the student out of the class or to sit next to the student when they are acting out or having a very difficult time redirecting themselves at such a young age. If I or the teacher would have told the student to go lie down so that he can rest, then the whole class would’ve acted tired as well so that’s not an option when you’re alone in the classroom. It is times like these that I start thinking abut what I will do in the future if this happens. Maybe I would have the whole entire class stand up and do the wiggles to get all of their energy out and to wake up those who cannot seem to stay awake. I think I would also want to ask parents if I am allowed to give their child an apple juice or orange juice to help them wake up and give them some energy when they are feeling tired or out of it. It is very easy to spot who is actually tired or who is faking it to get special treatment. One thing that worked for this student was quietly telling him that I will give him a sticker if he can stay awake for the entire class and show me he is listening. I’m glad I experienced this event because it made me think and reflect on what I would do for the future in my own classroom.
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