Case Studies in PE - Inclusion 1 finished

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Case Studies in Physical Education Read through the case study and answer the questions. Questions should be answered in the word document under each individually numbered question. Inclusion 1 Authors Emyr W. Williams Cary D. Kinchin Mary took the last three steps of the gym stairway in one bound. As she entered the physical education office, an excited young voice bellowed from behind, “Have a great holiday, Miss Wong.” Mary Turned and saw Tom, a grinning eight-grade student with bookbag bulging over his shoulder. She waved at Tom and replied, “Good luck with your basketball tournament. With all the scheduled games, you should be in great shape for the New Year.” Mary picked up the pile of Christmas cards she’d received from the students. The top one read, “Have a great vacation. Thanks for all the help this semester.” All of the seventh-grade students in fifth period had signed their names on the card. Mary knew now that the holiday season was about to begin. She’d survived her first semester of teaching middle school physical education. Mary left college with an excellent report following her student teaching experience at an urban middle school. She had received her undergraduate degree and teaching certification from a large Midwestern university. Following graduation Mary decided to forego seeking teaching positions in the large city in which she’d trained, instead choosing to return to her suburban home-town to teach. Teaching had been her life-long ambition. Both her parents were teachers and they had encouraged her to pursue this career. Mary accepted a position at Range Hill Middle School in northwestern Ohio. Range Hill Middle School had a student population of 550. Located in a fairly affluent middle -class suburban area. Students were mostly white (95 %), with the other 5 % predominantly African American. During the interview Mary had been impressed by the innovative and progressive philosophy of the school, and the teachers’ dedication to students learning. She was delighted when they offered her the position. Mary anticipated that working at an idyllic school like Range Hill would enable her to attain many professional attributes characteristic of an effective teacher. Although the holiday season was upon her, Mary was feeling physically and mentally drained. As the hallway door slammed, a wry smile came over her face. Mary said to herself,

“That Tom, he’s not stopped beaming from the first day of class.” Tom’s toothy grin would be a memory to cherish over the holidays. Rocking back on her chair, Mary’s smile quickly faded as her eyes focused upon the large manila folder on the shelf above her file cabinet. Sally Conner’s bulging file was a reminder of one of the few bothersome aspects of her first semester at Range Hill. Mary’s mind wandered back to the new teacher orientation meeting before the start of the semester with the principal, Ms. Webb. In that meeting the new teaches were informed about the inclusion policy of the district. There were 11 students with Severe Behavior Disabilities (SBD) attending Range Hill. At the end of the meeting , Principal Webb asked Mary to stay behind. Ms. Webb informed Mary that as she was new to the physical education department, she wasn’t going to be required to accept any students with SBD in her classes this academic year, although she would definitely have students with SBD in her classes next year. However, this year , if Mary didn’t wish to take any students with SBD, they would be included in Mr. Brady’s physical education classes . Ms. Webb added that it might be beneficial for Mary to work with a child with diverse behavior, such as Sally Conner, as it would give her valuable experience. At the same time, it would reduce the number of students with SBD that Mr. Brady (the only other physical educator at the school) would have. Rising quickly from behind her desk, Ms. Webb picked up her briefcase and headed toward the door. While opening the door for Mary, Ms. Webb stated, “I have every confidence that you’d do a great job with Sally. I must go – more meetings at district headquarters. It’s going to be another long night. If you have a problem with including Sally in your class this year, make an appointment with my secretary to discuss this further. But, I believe you’ll do fine.” Ms. Webb left Mary to deliberate on what she’d been volunteered for. Sally Conner had just been moved up to the seventh grade. Sally was prescribed Ritalin (a drug commonly used to treat hyperactive children). Her father had recently taken a job, after being unemployed for over a year. His new position involved extensive traveling and very little time at home. An assessment by the district psychologist indicated that Sally felt deserted by her father’s absence from home, and unfairly treated by her mother. Sally stated that her mother always blamed her, instead of her two younger brothers, when any disputes arose within the family. Sally’s attendance at school was inconsistent. Her mother had a difficult time getting Sally to school some days, due to her indifference. Occasionally she had to walk her to first period and remain there until the teacher arrived. This was the extent of Mrs. Conner’s contact with Sally’s teachers. A number of attempts by the school to arrange parent-teacher conferences were thwarted by Mrs. Conner. With her husband away nearly all of the time, and having to look after the two young boys, Mrs. Conner said that she didn’t have time to attend parent-teacher conferences concerning Sally’s behavior in school.

Mary recalled the first physical education unit of the year – soccer. Those balmy September days seemed an age ago. Mary could tell that Sally wasn’t excited by soccer simply by her body language. Sally was shy and intimidated by the other students. The first few lessons were fine because she worked alone. As the unit progressed, she refused to participate in group activities. Mary recalled the fifth day of the unit when Sally sat on the field and refused to budge. Mary took time out from the rest of the class in an attempt to encourage Sally to play. After nearly five minutes Sally agreed to join in on one condition: Mary had to be her partner. Mary agreed, while the rest of the class continued to work with minimal guidance from the teacher. At the lesson’s end, Mary placed her hand on Sally’s shoulder and praised her for the good work during that lesson. Mary and Sally’s partnership became the pattern for the next two lessons. By the end of the second week, Sally’s expectation to always pair up with Mary had become unacceptable for Mary. Feeling that she couldn’t devote all of her time to Sally, while the other students were essentially fending for themselves, Mary decided to stop being Sally’s partner. For the next two days Sally refused to participate in any way. Mary, in return, avoided devoting any time to Sally. Sally’s classmates tried to encourage her to join in but they also became tired of her behavior. Finally, Mary sat down with Sally in the office to talk to her about her unacceptable behavior, the help others were trying to give her, and her refusal to accept it. All Sally could say was, No one likes me. My mom doesn’t like me, my dad always leaves me, those kids always tease me, and you won’t help me.” Mary said that Sally must learn to join in, that there were 27 other children in the class that needed help too; she wasn’t the only one. Sally erupted into a major tantrum and stormed out. Mary shouted for her to come back, but Sally disappeared into the hive of activity in the corridor. Timmy and Jane, from Sally’s soccer class, came to Mary upset because some of the students in their group were goofing off. Mary couldn’t see this because she had been spending so much time with Sally. The two students also told her that the bigger skids were dominating the play every lesson, and they didn’t think it was fair. “We both like soccer and want to learn about the game and improve our skills,” Timmy and Jane complained. Mary had apologized and promised that thing would be different, that she would spend more time with all of the students. Mary reflected on the tough lesson that she’d experienced and considered strategies she could introduce to rectify the situation. Mary recalled her first conversation with Range Hill’s SBD specialist, Gordon Bennett, after he had observed Sally in Mary’s class. Mr. Bennett was responsible for the welfare of the 11 students with SBD attending Range Hill. Gordon admitted that he had trouble working with Sally and in establishing lines of communication with her parents. He suggested that Mary document Sally’s Behavior and contact him if necessary. At that time Mary did not realized how much material she would be gathering about Sally.

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