Ms. Burns Classroom: A Case Study

As an young educator, Ms. Burns has seen many of her former classmates and colleagues leave the education profession within their first few years. There are many issues in public education that effect students, parents, and teachers in significant ways. One major issue within the classroom, that impacts all three groups, is student’s attitude and behavior.

When working with students with disabilities in a secondary school setting, these students frequently have a negative views towards school and learning due to their previous struggles and defeats. Combining students academic weaknesses with their social and home lives, makes a powerful recipe for stress on a young adolescent. Statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics report that 30.7 percent of secondary public school teachers report parent involvement as a “serious” issues within education compared to 20.6 percent of their elementary peers or 5.5 percent of their private education peers. Parent involvement and support play a major role in students behavior at school. Working beyond these stressors to focus on academics can often be a challenge for Ms. Burns’ students.

Burns working hard to motivate her students while ensuring that they know that she cares for them and expect them to succeed. Student expectations within Ms. Burns’ classroom are clearly defined. This is done as a whole class during the first week of school through a classroom discussion of expectations for not only students, but also for the teacher. Students become more invested in creating these expectations through having their input heard, rather than being told how to act. She also finds ways to reward positive behaviors verse disciplining undesirable behaviors. The PBIS at MCMS makes it quick an easy to reward students with ”cat cash” for expected