Ms. Freemond teaches third grade and there is a student in her class that she is concerned about. At the beginning of the year, Derrick was pretty excited to be in her class. During lunch sometimes, he’d visit, and talk about they were studying. They’d even joke around a little. She knew from these talks that he was sometimes nervous about things like upcoming field trips or big assignments. But recently, Derrick’s worries started to impact class time and his productivity. He’s starting to fall behind.
Here’s what Ms. Freemond has noticed. Derrick has had a hard time changing activities. Four times this week, at the switch to independent reading time, Derrick refused to put his pencil down and pick up his book. Derrick gets stressed about things and he can be hard on himself. He made an error using the number line in math. Not a big deal. But it was to him. He wrote IDIOT at the top of his page and then erased it before turning it in. Derrick’s parents are usually pretty involved. For most of the year, his dad picked him up at the end of the day. He’d even check in with Ms. Freemond about how Derrick’s day had gone. But he doesn’t pick Derrick up anymore. And when Derrick lines up to go to after care, he looks a little sad.
Ms. Freemond is concerned about Derrick. He’s struggling more than usual and she’s starting to wonder if he needs some mental health support. She’s going to talk with Derrick today and try to find out more about how he’s feeling and what he’s thinking. The goals for this conversation are to discuss what Ms. Freemond has noticed, learn about Derrick’s struggles, and explore some options that might help Derrick feel more comfortable and productive in class.
You will hear two examples of possible conversations. You will also hear the feedback that Jackie Torres, the coach, might give to Ms. Freemond if she could interrupt the conversation and make some suggestions without Derrick noticing. She’ll also let Ms. Freemond know when things are going really well too. At the end of each example, Derrick will let Ms. Freemond know how the conversation went for him and how he is doing now.