Veenstra !

1
Emily Veenstra
EDUC 202
Prof. Steenstra
May 13, 2013
Case Study Final Synthesis
Star Elementary School is located on Star Street in the Green Park Neighborhood of
Grand Rapids. According to the Grand Rapids Public School District website (2013), Star
Elementary was renovated in a two year time period spanning from 2007-2009. The renovation
kept the character and charm of the old building, by incorporating new modern features such as a
vaulted glass and steel entryway, an updated speaker and monitor system, and a buzz-in entry
system with the original yellow brick and designs on the outside of the building.
The Green Park neighborhood is made up of decently sized houses. One house across the
street from Star Elementary had boards covering the window. Seven across the street had
chipping paint. Three houses had shingles that were visibly coming off of the roof. I caught
myself forming opinions on the social class of the students I would be observing. Paul Gorski,
in his article on The Myth of the Culture of Poverty, warns against stereotyping students into
categories based on their economic standing because [the culture of classism] leads the most
well intentioned of us into low expectations for low-income students (2010, p. 2). I wanted
to be careful to avoid judgment of the students I was observing based off of the lower-class
condition of their neighborhood.
This semester, I observed in Mrs. Ps first grade classroom. The classroom itself is longer
than it is wide. The door cuts the room down the center. To the left, as you walk in the door is a

Veenstra !2
tiled area covered with a rug that has large classroom objects pictured in bright colors and the
names of the object in both Spanish and English on it. Where the rug stops, there is a cubby are
for the students coats and back packs. On the solid back of these cubbies, next to the rug, is a
calendar area with the seasons chart. A sink and restroom area are also located in this back half
of the classroom. I wonder if it is a positive thing to have the bathroom directly in the classroom
or not. I have frequently observed students leaving their seats, going to the bathroom, and
stopping by the sink to get a drink before slowly making their way back to their seats. Mrs. P.
said she tries to provide opportunities for the entire class to go to the bathroom right after recess,
so the one in their room is reserved for emergencies only, which makes me believe that it can
lean towards being a distraction.
In the front half of the room, the area to the right when you walk in the door, are the
students desks. The desks are arranged on this carpeted area in two groups of six desks and two
groups of eight desks. There is a total of twenty-seven students in this classroom. Fourteen of
the students are boys, and twelve are girls. According to the National Center for Educational
Statistics (2011), ratio of boys to girls is fairly proportional to the ratio of boys to girls of the
school as a whole; as a whole, there are 208 boys and 189 girls.
One thing that sets this particular first grade class apart is the culture and language of the
students. This is one of Star Elementarys native language classrooms. I wondered if the school
had more diverse or mixed classes in addition to this one. I found that both Native language and
ESL classes are offered to students in Kindergarten through fifth grade (School Website).
Observations showed that about ninety percent of the instruction or discussion takes place in
Spanish. I wonder how the students adjust to learning English as their second language since

Veenstra !3
most of the conversation is done in Spanish. Instructions on the board are written in English, but
spoken in Spanish. I soon learned though, that the evidence suggests that, had these learners
been corrected or drilled in the rules of the new [language], they probably would not have
acquired it as readily (Delpit, 2006, p. 50).
One of the books read and discussed was Duck Runs for President. It made me wonder
how much cross-cultural inclusion there is in the curriculum. As Delpit points out, We can
recognize diversity of thought, language, and worldview in our classrooms cannot only provide
an exciting educational setting, but can also prepare our children the richness of living in an
increasingly diverse national community (2006, p. 67). Later in my observations, I noticed
them working on a social studies paper sobre un gran presidente, where the American culture
was once again being taught in detail. I wonder how much of the students own culture is
incorporated into the curriculum, if any. In this unique setting, where their native tongue is
spoken, the students are able to develop communication skills in both their first and second
languages.
Since this classroom is a Native Language classroom, the students are all hispanic in
decent. Mrs. P. said that most come from Mexico and the rest come from various countries in
Central and South America. Hawley and Nieto (2010) highlight that cultural diversity need not
be viewed as a point of difficulty within the school, and emphasize the importance of
understanding the ways teaching and learning are affected by race.
As previously discussed, these students come from families at or below the poverty line.
According to Common Core of Data (2010), 386 out of 397 students qualified for free lunch, and
eight qualified for reduced-priced lunches. Around 2 oclock each day, older students deliver a

Veenstra !4
box of sack lunches for the students in Mrs. P.s class to take home. On the school website, it
said that students have been wearing uniforms since 2000. In my observations, however, I think
these rules have greatly relaxed. The first day, I noticed only fourteen of the twenty-three
students wearing some type of uniform. I think for some students who may not be able to afford
a bounty of other clothing, school uniforms is a good way to counter this. They are not
extremely strict on the dress code though, making me think the rule has changed over the past 13
years.
Brian is the Hispanic learner that I recently began observing. Though his native language
is Spanish, Brian speaks fairly fluent English and is able to comprehend and apply my English
instructions and discussions, as well as my poorly spoken Spanish ones, when I am helping him
through an assignment. Mrs. P. has given me a little bit of background into his learning abilities.
She paired me with him because she wants to see if he struggles because of apathy or simply not
comprehending. I wonder how teachers of non-native speakers are able to differentiate between
a complete lack of understanding of the concept and what might come across as laziness, because
Teachers can easily misread students aptitudes, intent, or abilities as a result of the difference in
styles of language use and interactional patterns (Delpit, 2003, p. 167).
Though you cant jump to any conclusions by looking at clothing, Brian wears the school
gray and black hoody each Tuesday that I have observed him. I wonder if his economic situation
at home is hindering his ability to focus well in class, or if his inattention and apathy comes from
a different source.
Brian is an average reader when he puts his mind to it. His math skills, however, are less
then average. This caught my attention, because in Taylor and Whittaker (2009), they discussed

Veenstra !5
the opposite being stereotypical for the male gender. I think Brians strengths in reading go to
show that the gendered images may be due to the differential treatment by teachers who respond
differently to boys and girls during mathematics instruction in the classroom or to teachers who
believe that differences in gender are rooted in purely biological factors and that they should
prepare girls to fulfill different roles (Taylor, Whittaker, 2009, p. 197).
When I first started focusing my observations on Brian I was told, Brian is slow in math.
We do not know if he is just being lazy or if he doesnt get it. He gets very distracted during the
lessons (S. Rosas, personal communication, March 12, 2013). Now, after several weeks of
closer observation combined with readings from Dr. Mel Levines A Mind at a Time, I feel as
though I have a better grasp on where some of Brians strengths and weaknesses are.
On March 12, when I arrived in the room, the kids were coming in from recess and
about to sit on the carpet for reading. Brian was asked to sit down three times before listening,
and shortly after he got up again. This time he was asked to sit in his seat instead of on the
carpet. Instead of putting his head down, however, Brian took the crayons from the pencil box
that sat on the desk behind him. He then went to his own seat with the crayons, and shot the
crayons from his desk to try to make them in the pencil box. Brian does not show much reaction
when he is asked to pull a card from this misbehavior. On that same day, fifteen minutes later,
when all the students are asked to clear their desks, including their pencil boxes, Brian leaves his
on the desk. His team gets a point taken away for not having all their desks clear.
I noticed that Brians regulation of behavioral output may be a weakness. This showed in
his disposition when he was sent to his desk and when he caused his group to lose points. He is

Veenstra !6
weak functioning in reinforce-ability, and seems, immune to the effects of punishment, or even
praise (Levine, 2002, p. 82).
Another instance where weaknesses in attention control showed later on the same day.
Students in the class were at different stations of math exploration. As soon as the directions
were given, the class begin their exploration and work time. Brian immediately left his table
station to go to the back of the room and get a drink from the water fountain. Then, instead of
going back to his station where his pencil is at, he picked up the shapes at the table behind him
and began playing with them. Two other students at the shapes table were distracted by Brians
actions, stopped their work and began playing with the shapes.
To me, these actions could be a combination of weaknesses in mental effort as well as
weaknesses in processing controls. Brian frequently struggles with completing tasks or
fulfilling responsibilities that are not particularly entertaining or immediately
motivating (Glossary of Neurodevelpmental Terms), especially in mathematics. Going to the
water fountain and not making it back I think could be an example of saliency determination
weaknesses, because he was distracted by what was going on in his environment.
On May 9, the students came in from recess and immediately continued writing and
illustrating their stories. When I looked at Brians he had only drawn the picture, and after five
minutes of work time had only added one stick person to the picture. Brian added two more
stick figures to the picture. There were several questions that passed through my mind at this
point. First, I wondered if Brian had a weakness in graphomotor functioning, because he
avoided writing, because I remembered Levine (2002) saying we might discover that your child

Veenstra !7
hates to write because of feeble connections between his memory and his fingers (p. 179). It
seems likely to me that Brian struggles due to a graphomotor weakness.
I asked him if the people he drew in the picture were his family. He responded by saying
that they were two of his friends. It made me wonder what his family situation is. I have never
heard Brian talk about his home life. Pearson makes it clear that:
Every person develops within a microsystem (family, friends, school activities,
teacher, etc.) inside a mesosystem (the interactions among all the microsystem elements),
embedded in an exosystem (social settings that affect the child even though the child is
not a direct member- community resources, parents work place, etc.); all are part of the
macrosystem (the larger society with its laws, customs, values, etc.) (Pearson, 2011, p.
47).
This shows that Brian is indefinitely affected by his home life, even if he doesnt speak of it. I
still wonder how big of a role his family plays in his life.
Besides weaknesses in attention and graphomotor functioning, I started seeing signs of
some weaknesses in sequential ordering. I was sitting next to him as he was working on a math
worksheet having to do with money. He simply stared at the table, not picking up his pencil or
attempting to circle a combination of coins to make 65 cents. I started working with him to see
whether it was just laziness, as his teachers had implied. As we were working, however, I notice
that he was having trouble ordering numbers greater than 10, even if we worked just with the
numbers and not the coins. I had previously worked with him on counting by 2s since he was
having trouble with this as well. He struggled with perceiving any sort of pattern in the sequence
of counting by 2s. If he was already having trouble ordering numbers by 1s it is no wonder that

Veenstra !8
2s were far more difficult. As we worked, I had Brian draw out the information. This drew
upon his greater sense for spatial ordering. He was then able to focus making progress on the
paper. For an English Language Learner, discerning the order of letters in the alphabet, figuring
out which numbers are greater than which others, and telling time represent sequencing
milestones for five-to seven-year-olds, who also are expected to mop up time-soaked vocabulary,
words such as before, after, until, and when (Levine, M. 2002, p. 167).
Repeatedly, Brian has asked his classmates to do the work for him, or asked his table
partner for the answer to a problem. I wonder, was it the fear of getting the wrong answer and
not completing the task correctly at play. Or, is this level of higher order thinking too far above
Brians level? It could be that Brian lacks a willingness to risk being wrong, to risk creating
something others will denigrate, mock, or otherwise react to disapprovingly (Levine, M., 2002,
p. 210), and that he has weaknesses in higher order thinking.
Relying on others for the answers could also be linked to his moral development. I
wonder if Brian realizes that, when you are not working collaboratively as a group, copying the
answer off of someone else is cheating. According to Kohlbergs Theory of Moral Development,
Brian would still be at the Personal Reward Orientation Stage of the preconventional level,
where personal needs determine right and wrong (Pearson, 2011, p. 79). I have a hunch that
Brian needed the answer for his personal needs to be met, so took it the most convenient way he
knew how.
Several of Brians interactions with his classmates are worth noting. On April 16, I
observed Brian whisper five different times to his table partners about three different subjects.
Levine says that topic selection and maintenance is the ability to know what to talk about when

Veenstra !9
and how long to keep it up (Levine, M., 2002, p. 232). Perhaps Brian has social language
function weakness, and states what is going on in his head without putting much thought about
whether or not those comments are appropriate at the time they are remarked.
So many factors contribute to where Brians strengths and weaknesses are in learning.
His attention, memory, language, motor/sensory, spatial and sequential ordering, and higher
order thinking, are a part of his individual make-up. The family system, social systems,
classroom context, school context, and moral, spiritual, and faith development, are several key
outside sources that effect Brian. I learned so much invaluable information by focusing on this
learner. Brian taught me that every student is a complex, unique individual, with strengths and
weaknesses. I believe, as a teacher, it is very important provide opportunities for the learner to
showcase their strengths in learning, while also challenging them to improve upon their
weakness.

References

Veenstra !10
Common Core of Data. (2012). Elementary School. In National Center for Education Statistics.
Retrieved April 17, 2013
Delpit, L. (2006). Other people's children: cultural conflict in the classroom (2nd ed.). New
York, NY: The New Press.
Education 202- The learner in the educational context: development and diversity. (2011).
Boston, MA: Pearson Learning Solutions.
Grand Rapids Public School. (2013). Elementary. In Grand Rapids Public School District.
Retrieved April 17, 2013
Grand Valley State University. (n.d.). Garfield Park. In Community Research Institute. Retrieved
April 17, 2013
Levine, M. (2002). A mind at a time. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
Taylor, L. S., & Whittaker, C. R. (2009). Bridging multiple worlds: case studies of diverse
educational communities (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.