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Technology: A key to help unlock at-risk children
Technology helps one at-risk student interact with his peers and begin to succeed in an academic setting. By Craig S. Diggs |
 am a
fourth grade teacher in a middle-sized district in Missouri.
Our district has approximately 15,000 students and is growing at the
rate of about 500 students per year. This means that our district is
short on money, space, and energy. At my school, because there is a
large university nearby, we have a very diverse population from a
wide range of cultures, including students from 27 countries. In
addition, 16 percent of our students qualify for free or reduced
lunch. Because of all of these variables, I love what I do, and
hopefully I will be able to continue my chosen profession for many
years.
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 Students researching topics on the Web. |
 ach year,
the diversity of the students entering my classroom
presents me with new and different challenges. As a regular
classroom teacher, I usually have approximately thirty students. Of
these, four or five have individualized educational programs (IEPs)
for identified learning disabilities (LD). Several others have IEP's
based on identified behavior disorders (BD). Another two or three
students are labeled as gifted. Some gifted students may also be
labeled as LD or BD. The rest of the students' abilities fall between
being very capable and very much in need of additional assistance.Last year I had one student who really tested my inventiveness and commitment. This student came into my classroom with a BD/LD label, but presented challenges not usually associated with these students. Joe's homelife was less than ideal, and, perhaps as a result of these external pressures, he was reading at the second grade level and was below the fourth grade level of functioning in every other subject area. These results were very disheartening considering his cognitive ability test scores put him at an average intelligence in verbal, analytical, and quantitative areas. His IEP indicated that he could have an explosive temper at times, and he was, at this young age, already involved in the juvenile justice system. Emotionally, we knew that we could help Joe at school with our counselor, an outdoor challenge club, a care committee, a mentor, and a Big Brother. Academically we knew that we would be in for a long, uphill struggle. Joe was a large boy for his age, and other children were scared to death of him because of his size and aggressive, violent behavior. Other students didn't like to work with him because he used inappropriate words and exhibited threatening behavior. Whenever he didn't understand an assignment, he wouldn't ask for help. He felt as though he still needed to look tough in everyone's eyes. |
 hortly
after the school year began, we reached a stalemate; Joe
would only work when I was sitting with him. But he also knew that
if his behavior got too severe, we would have no choice but to get in
touch with his juvenile officer and then the officer would contact his
mother. I didn't want to contact Joe's mother because when I had
done so on a previous occasion, Joe was set back quite a bit in class.
Joe's family didn't have a phone, so I had taken Joe home after school
one day because he had gotten in a fight with another boy. His
mother wasn't home, so I left a message with his older sister. The
next day at school, Joe didn't smile or attempt to do any work the
whole day. Several times I asked him if everything was all right, and
he would always nod yes. I asked him if his mother had talked to
him and he said yes, but he didn't offer any more information. After that, if I ever indicated that I would take him home and talk to his mother, he became scared to death. I discussed the situation with our principal, and she said there really wasn't anything the Division of Family Services could do. Joe refused to discuss his homelife, and I was afraid that Joe's mother was responding to reports of his misconduct with a strong hand rather than an understanding heart. Joe and I came to an unspoken understanding after this. He knew that I wouldn't talk to his mother about inappropriate behavior unless there were no other options available. He knew that I had a good idea what would happen to him at home, and, by not talking to his mother, he felt that I understood him. |
 owever,
this understanding was not a solution to our classroom
problems. Joe still didn't want to work unless he was in a one-on-one
situation with me. Something had to be done. It would have been
very easy to put him in in-school suspension whenever he refused to
work, but that was exactly what he wanted and that was no solution.
This was the first year of full inclusion at our school and I felt
challenged to give it my best shot. |
 e are
lucky to have a terrific lab set up in our school that has
twenty-eight work stations, as well as a local area network with
computers to all of the classrooms from second and fifth grades. These
were acquired through many fund raising activities that included
selling pizza, wrapping paper, coupon books, and other events too
numerous to mention. The parents, teachers, and children at our
school are very proud of all of their hard work. We also secured the
services of a Lab Coordinator to help emphasize keyboarding, word
processing, and writing. We felt as though she was a very important
part of the equation for a successful technology program. She was,
and is, a wonderful instructor and is always innovative, supportive,
and constantly looking for ways to hook at-risk students by using
technology as a bait to grab their short attention spans. Like many teachers, at first I thought that the computer would be a wonderful place to store Joe while I engaged the other students in what I felt at that time was a meaningful lesson. He would usually use Math Blasters, Amazon Trail, or Oregon Trail. Each of these programs requires a bit of reading, and Joe would get stumped at times and ask for my assistance. I helped him at first by myself, but soon other students asked if they also could help Joe, so they could play, too. The students did take turns working with Joe, and after a few weeks, it became clear that he had gradually gained acceptance among his classmates. Rather than isolating him from the class, technology had helped Joe interact with his peers. |
 Technology has helped students bridge differences in this classroom. |
 oe
still struggled, though, avoiding classwork. After many long days
of trying to figure out what he was interested in, I found that he and
I both loved playing, watching, and reading
about basketball. It was odd how he couldn't remember
multiplication facts but could remember things that are related and
linked to basketball in some way. I asked him who his favorite
basketball player was, and the enthusiasm and length of his response
caught me by surprise. Joe's favorite player was Michael Jordan, he said, and then he proceeded to tell me Jordan's point average per game, his assists, the number of times he had made the all-star team, and many more stats on why Jordan was so good. I then asked him if he liked any other players and his eyes lit up. Joe suddenly became a walking, talking encyclopedia of basketball trivia. I asked him if he would like to know more about these players and the teams and cities that they were from and he responded with an enthusiastic "Yes!" |
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oon after
Joe and I had talked about basketball, I decided that it
was time to take Joe on a journey on the Internet. What we found
was a deluge of information that would take a lifetime to read. Joe
was enthralled as he scrolled down various pages and read and saw
charts and pictures about his ultimate heroes. He had never been
very interested in books about basketball, thus the lab instructor and
myself were extremely pleased with these results. Joe asked us if he
could print some of this material so he could take it back to class to
read during Sustained Silent Reading. This request was great considering that Joe had
previously indicated that he hated reading. Joe had begun the slow
climb up the literacy ladder with the assistance of technology. Joe's interest in Michael Jordan and Jordan's Web page grew to include countless visits to basketball players on other pages. Joe started making his own decisions about what he wanted to know and do. He discovered an e-mail address for Michael Jordan, which he used. He also learned to use a word processing program to send a conventional letter to Mr. Jordan. He also began to research basketball to learn how it got started. He was amazed at the information and pictures available. All of this was a good start for a child in dire need of success. |
 The "Where on the Globe Is Roger?" project that Joe liked participating in more than recess. |
 ll
year long, Joe and the rest of the students used technology for research
and word processing, but there was one more experience that really hooked
Joe. The extent of the impact was more than I had ever expected. We found
the Global SchoolNet Foundation project, Where
on the Globe is Roger? Roger Williams is a retired Airline Pilot and
a Marine Corps Aviator who dreamed of driving his truck, Bubba, across every
continent. Once every week or so, Roger sends, via e-mail, a digest of his
travels to students and teachers all over the country. He also answers questions
sent by students. When we were involved, over 300 schools participated in
this journey. Students could ask him about things he has seen, people he
has talked to, or experiences he's had. We felt Joe might be interested
in this program along with other students in our school. Our lab coordinator
decided to offer Trips with Roger thirty minutes before school started and
at various recess times throughout the day. "Why would Roger want to talk to me?" Joe asked when I told him about the project. I told Joe that Roger wanted to share his travels with kids. He got lonely at times and liked to hear from people at home. Joe could understand how a person could be lonely. He also knew that this was a good choice for him, something he could do that would keep him out of trouble, but would not hurt his image as a tough kid. From that day on, you could find Joe every morning before school in the computer lab searching for Roger and using e-mail to ask him questions. He would also spend about half of his recesses doing the same thing. Joe had found a little niche in school in which he could be successful. He let his interest in technology replace battles he'd fought with peers during free time, and he was still cool. |
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hile
Joe has moved on to another school, I have not forgotten him
and the success he achieved once his interest was sparked. We still
communicate by e-mail occasionally, and I hope he has continued to
develop the interests that blossomed in his fourth grade year. After
working with Joe, I feel the key to inclusion is grabbing kids'
interest through issues that are in their lives--otherwise there is no
ownership or drive to be involved. I am just beginning to understand
the possibilities the Internet makes possible, and it has most
dramatically changed my life and the way I teach. I can't even
fathom what technology will mean to my students as they become
adults, or to my own children, but it will be fun to go along for part
of the ride. Is technology the answer to all of our problems in education? No, I don't believe so, but it does provide another resource. It provides a means of communication that children understand. It can be an exciting tool in the right hands, and it can give life and vigor to otherwise dull lessons. Technology can also help address stumbling blocks in education that have not been successfully addressed using traditional resources. Technology helped one alienated student interact with his peers and begin to succeed in an academic setting. That, certainly, is worth something.  |
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