Looking for some advice plllllease!

I would like to start by saying I am by no means a teaching expert. I am however, a mother of a disabled child, so with that in mind I will attempt to answer your questions with the experiences that I have come across with my dealings with the schools.

1. When I am scribing for a student do I simply write down exactly what he says? Or do I help out with sentence structure at all?
I would say do both. Write down exactly what the child says then if it is required for others to understand, translate under the exact quotes. This way people are able to see how the child views things. I feel it would give a complete picture.

2. What kind of contact should I have with the psychologists that did my students assessment? I have questions about the assessments, can I contact them?
Honestly, as much contact as you can get is best. You and the school psychologist are a team; that is how you should see it. About the matter of asking questions, I will pass along to you something my mother told me years ago. The only stupid question is the one that is not asked. Always ask questions! The more you can find out about the children you are working with the better you will be able to help them. That means understanding everything about the assessments.

3. How do I help a student that cannot concentrate at all? He distracts other students in “Homework Club” (for IEP students only). He is not diagnosed with ADD and I don’t know what to do with him.
Have you ever tried a timer? A timer is a visual and auditory reminder of the time frame the student has to accomplish a given task. I have done this with my son and it works very well. In his class there is also a reward system with dimes. The children earn dimes for their good behavior. (The dimes are donated monthly by the parents, PTA, and teacher as well as others who work with the children) The class then sets up a mini school store. At the end of the month the children count up their dimes and are then able to purchase items from that store. This works at keeping the kids on task, as they want to be able to earn their dimes to be able to buy things like an adult would. I would most certainly try the timer, I would however, discuss the “dimes” with the school and see if the idea would be welcomed should it be something you would want to try in the class.

4. As a middle school teacher the parents do not really want their kids taken out of class if it can be helped (the content gets harder in these years). It is hard to go into the classroom and help the student without embarrassing the student and having the teacher use me as an aid. What do you do?
I would say that if a child needs to be removed from the room on a regular basis that it is time to contact the parents and the school psychologist. (This is kind of hard to answer without knowing why the child(ren) is being removed.) What it will come down to ultimately is your best judgment. You as the teacher need to be able to control the situation without causing distraction for the other children in the room with also not causing any embarrassment for the child in question. If you feel it is best for all involved that the child be removed from the room so that you can talk to him or her then go with your gut feeling. Some may say that is so embarrassing, but think about it? Which is worse being spoken to in front of the class or being asked to step outside? Keep contact with the psychologist and parents so they know at all times what is going on.

In time things will come together and I can’t even begin to imagine the stresses you must be feeling as a first year teacher. It is going to take some time to learn the real life experiences of the classroom that no university can ever teach you. Trust in yourself and your desire to help the kids. I hope that some of this was helpful to you in some way. The very best of luck to you.

a former literacy tutor and ‘LD Mom’ to a 6th grader, with my own 2 cents.

Scribing is just that — scribing! No help — write down EXACTLY what the learner says. Part of the point is to bridge the ‘gap’ between thought and the written word — so the student can know that HIS/HER brain came up with those words — you just helped immature writing skills by doing the actual writing for the learner. Often the mechanics are a real stumbling block, and the language skills are far ahead of the writing skills. Plus, then you are able to mark the ‘writing’ as far as content, organization, etc. from a language standpoint, just ignoring the mechanics of it. Since some kids only have ‘mechanical’ problems, and some have both, this can be very important to judge progress/skills also.

IMO, scribing ‘exactly’ is important because it helps to ‘unstick’ students who have mechanical problems with writing — takes the pressure off, but boosts their self-image as they realize they really DO have something to say, and are truly ‘writers’. When you are a 7th grader with second grade spelling/handwriting skills, any positive learning experience helps!

Writing a ‘translation’ of ‘more correct’ wording, if I understood the previous poster, for a child who also has language problems is questionable, IMO. I’m not sure it is necessary or worth your time. The main teacher (or others) can probably ‘translate’ for themselves, and if they can’t, that will tell them what they need to know. I’m not sure it is good for the struggling learner to see it ‘corrected’, giving them more proof of how ‘bad’ their skills are — but that’s just my opinion!

You sound like a great teacher…there are many here who will have good input on your other questions from a ‘teacher’ POV. Good luck to you — your students are going to be lucky ones!

On the scribing, I see several different situations.

If it is a test or a major project for marks, it is very important to write *only* what the student says. Sure, you want to help — but ask yourself if it is really *help* to fake a kid through several years of school by doing his work for him. I have one right now who got good marks in Grade 7 with a low Grade 2 reading level and worse writing, no way that was an honest reflection of his work; if he had F’s much earlier in his school career then there would have been grounds to take action, but by providing fake marks the school allowed the situation to snowball and now it’s too late for him to succeed in high school, we are barely treading water.

If it is a learning process activity, don’t just edit by yourself, which does no good whatever for the student; rather, *discuss* with him what he wants to say and how and why and what would be a better way to format his ideas. This takes time and effort, true — and that is why you’re there so put in as much as you can.

For the “homework club”, no magic bullets, but try sitting down beside him and talking about the work he is supposed to be doing and how and why. A lot of kids (like my student above) simply *cannot* do the assigned work, so they act up out of both boredom and frustration; then over the years the acting up becomes a habit and part of their social persona. It takes a long time to change that, but start now.