Behavioral Case Study

Children come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and especially with their own
personalities. In practicum I followed two students especially close these last couple of months.
They are fun little energetic boys who enjoy receiving attention and have trouble following the
rules sometimes. The reasons and causes for their behavior challenges are however very different
from one another.
Tommy can be a very good little worker. He is smart, and if not bothered or distracted by
the other students, will complete his assignments successfully. We suspect that he has ADHD
because he has a very hard time focusing, and has to constantly be moving or playing with
something. He comes from a very rough background. Both of his parents have been mixed up in
all sorts of things and have been in and out of jail. This has a major impact on his studies and in
ways transfers over into how he behaves.
Jimmy is a very bright young boy. In a way his intelligence influences the way he acts in
the classroom. He loves the attention and constantly searches for ways to receive it. He also has
trouble getting his work done, but if you pull away the other students he will settle right down
and get to work. He loves being the class clown. He comes from a very loving and stable home.
He was the only child for most of his life, which probably has an effect on his desire to be the
center of attention. He can change his behavior and follow directions when he wants to.
The teacher reacts to Tommys and Jimmys misbehavior in very different ways. The
teacher loves all her students very much, but has mentioned on a number of occasions that
Tommy is her trouble child. She tends to have less patience with Tommy and constantly snaps at
him. She changes his card on a daily basis. One day she read allowed a card to the class from the

hall monitors that noted the misbehavior of Tommy during lunch. Many of the students chimed
in and told their part of what happened. She scolded him again in front of the class before
changing his card two colors, instead of one. The way that she tries to help him focus to get his
assignments done, is by lightly tapping his shoulder until he is finished. She is kind, but you can
clearly see that out of all the students she has the shortest temper with him.
Jimmy is basically just a talker and also tries to get away with misbehaving. The teacher
sets him in the back of the rug and in the back of the classroom (as opposed to having Tommy
right by her in both instances). He disrupts the class just as much as Tommy. However, she either
ignores it until it becomes a bigger deal, or she sends him back to his desk to sit (when they are
sitting on the rug). She never mentions anything about how he affects the class even though he
disrupts almost just as much.
Tommy is the only one with a program set up. He goes to a social skills class. This is his
first year and they go over What is a bully? and What is it like to be bullied? They do role
plays and use scenario cards. The Special Ed. teacher that runs this class says that he does well in
this class and has not noticed any changes in him. She said that she has very strict rules and that
he follows them and does well when he knows what is expected of him. She told us that she sees
no reason why he should stay because he is not academically challenged. He is intelligent and
just struggles with oppositional defiance from time to time. The special ed. teacher kind of
looked at the teacher with eyes that told me she thought this child needed more from his teacher
instead of wasting her time coming into the class. The teacher wanted to try things out longer
though and said that she would try and document more to see if this class was actually helping.

Tommy is mostly with another male teacher for most of the day. The teacher requested
that this person sit by him and monitor and help him. However, there are times where I have to
step in and help him. He does listen to me and at times Ive gotten him to excitedly engage in
projects and assignments. It took a little bit for me to gain this relationship with him though. At
first he did not want to listen to me at all.
One time while this male teacher was teaching a lesson I stepped in to keep Tommy
focused. He had to continue moving. As I took away the rulers he was flying around and hitting
on the desk, he discovered other things to distract his neighbors with. After taking away all the
distractions he pretended to punch me over and over again. He succeeded in getting my nose. I
told him to settle down and that my nose could have almost bled. I could tell that he felt a little
bad and didnt mean to actually hit me, but he could not sit still and continued finding something
else to make noise with.
After setting some boundaries with Tommy, helping him with assignments, and talking
with him about his interests, he now gets excited to finish his work and stays a little more
focused. I do not give in to his misbehavior. It was difficult at first because his male teacher tried
to be more of his friend than a teacher, but he respects me now.
Jimmy is the boy that I have to sit by, or pass by most of the time. I have to sit in between
him and another boy on the rug or they will be sent to their seats by the teacher. He still will try
and talk over me and send his friends looks that speak louder than the words he would have said.
He truly is the class clown. I have to think of competitions to get him to work and leave his
neighbors alone. I try and stay within a close enough distance to him so that he doesnt get the
urge to talk too much.

Tommys behavior has a major impact on his learning self esteem and social standing.
When he misbehaves he does poorly on assignments and may not even finish it at all. He can do
very well if he wants to, but when he messes around he misses the crucial instruction needed to
complete the assignments. I can see that it is affecting his self esteem. The teacher kind of
deemed him the trouble maker/ bad kid and the other students picked up on that. They are eager
to tattle on him or get frustrated with him. One time five kids came in hyper to tattle on him. You
could see they were fine, but the teacher changed his card. He tries and can be a great child, but
when everyone is against him it has got to be hard. He does have some friends, but almost every
time they come in from Recess they have something to tattle on him (like saying a naughty word,
or something). He doesnt mean to is a sweet child who loves to help whenever we ask him for
help. He searches for the attention of the adults more than anything (which I believe is because
of the lack of it back at home). He especially craves adult male attention (probably just to fill the
missing father gap). The children kind of view him as the bully and dont try to get to know him
and understand him on a deeper level because of what he has already been framed as. I believe
that the thing that drives Tommys behavior issue is a mix between genetic make-up (ADHD
possibly from choices made by his mother during pregnancy, and his home life), and his desire to
search for adult attention.
Jimmy is very brilliant and has no negative impacts on his learning that I can see. He is
usually one o the first ones to put up his hand and waits to be called on. He has a very high level
of self esteem. He craves the attention from his peers and is exceptionally social. He is able to
almost control some of the kids sometime. I watched him talk and get the other child in trouble.
When he was able to get away with it he laughed a little. He has many children that will come up
to him wanting to play with him and go to his party. He is a social butterfly.

It was interesting to see him interact on his birthday. Normally he is very loud and
constantly chatting away and seeking attention. I noticed that on the day of his birthday he was
quieter and listened and followed the rules. I was astonished. As I continued observing him I had
a thought come to my head. The students were already engaged about learning about him. They
were all sitting on the rug and were talking about all the great things that Jimmy was known for.
One girl raised her hand and said that Jimmy was good at sports. I looked over and could hear
him quietly talking to himself and nodding, Oh yeah I am really good at sports! He was
absorbed in all of his achievements and life. He did not seek for as much attention on this day
because all of it was already on him for much of the day as the children almost competed for the
honor of being one of his best friends.
In short, Tommys behavior issues stem within a deficiency in a stable home life, and a
possible disorder. Jimmy is perfectly capable of following the rules and shaping up when he
wants to. Tommy seeks for attention from adults and yearns for acceptance there, whereas
Jimmys looking for popularity and the chance to be the class clown. They act out in similar
ways, but have two different motivations and desires.
There are many things that I have seen in the class that I would like to implement and
also steer clear from. I believe in setting boundaries and having procedures. You cannot back
down and need to be consistent. However it is so crucial not to lose your patience. You must
show your love and respect for these children. They will in return respect and follow you. We
cannot run an army, but we also need to not let it get crazy and out of control. Everything needs
to be in perfect balance.

Our teacher does an amazing job in keeping the students engaged and excited in her class.
They have procedures and rules for them to follow and the boundaries she sets are the perfect
amount. Instead of scolding the students all the time, she has little poems for them to recite and
games for them to play. Its these little things that pull the attention of the class together in a
matter of seconds. It helps get the wiggles out and prepare them to focus again on what she needs
them to. She goes out of her way to notice the nice things that they do. I think it is great to catch
the students doing well and keep things positive.
Some things that I would never do in my class are point out the mistakes of others. There
have been a few times when children have been singled out for errors in behavior or
assignments. This ruins their self esteem, and also leads the other students to look at their
classmates in a different way. It is so crucial to create a safe environment for every child. Most
of the times the children who produce the most trouble are the ones who need the most love and
guidance. They are the ones who are just doing anything they can; in the in only way they know
how, to receive attention.
I have learned how much of a difference my attitude and efforts can make a difference in
a childs life. The way I treat them will reflect and shape the way the other students will view
and treat them. Actions speak louder than words. It is so crucial to never lose your patience and
continue to love and nurture ALL of your students, no matter what, at the same time as sticking
to your word and staying consistent with your procedures. Children like boundaries and search
for them. Help them succeed by believing in them and never giving up on them!