Case Study Phase II

Michael J. Sosa Cardona

Subject – Anibal Miranda Ortiz

Cooperative Teacher – Sonia Almeda

Practice Supervisor – Dr. Nilsa Lugo

University of Puerto Rico at Humacao and Community School Jose Campeche

Index:

New Analysis of Student’s Problem

Make a comparison with initial handling of the problem

Work Plan Chart 2

New Analysis of Student’s Problem

“The student likes to disrupt and interrupt class a lot. While he has been with me, he has

behaved a little.” These were the first words I used in my narrative of my hypothetical case

study. One thing that caught my attention is that Anibal Miranda Ortiz does like, like any other

student, to disrupt and interrupt the class but to an extent. He puts limits to his menace. This

means that, when he has to pay attention, he pays attention. He is like any other regular student.

Youngsters, at this age, like getting attention from others.

The new analysis of student’s problem could be said[...] English is hard to understand. He

has problems with the language. Still, there are external factors that contribute to this. He cannot

focus so much on the class because of the language itself, the material being taught (with him or

any other) loses attention to the classroom. As a result, he ends up flunking. Still, a new

discovery was made. Even though Anibal loses interest in English at some point, he seems to

aspire to get to college. Therefore, he needs good grades. As a result, when he seems to be under

pressure, he starts to work. I didn’t know how to put this kid to work, but when I saw Anibal be

under pressure, I knew this was the way to teach him a lesson.

In Spanish, on the other hand, Anibal is flunking because he really does not like the class

at all and the methodology the teacher uses for approaching the students is not the most

appropriate. The Spanish teacher is called Enid Muñoz. She is an excellent person. Still, she is a

woman who is really behavioristic. According to the data I have gathered, there are students

doing bad with the Spanish teacher because (confessed by them) don’t like the class at all. There

was a student named Christian Pérez that threw a paper at the face of this teacher and laid down

on one of the desks she has on her classroom (she has two of them). The students really don’t

have respect for this teacher. In my conclusion of the data I’ve gathered from the Spanish

teacher, I can say that Anibal is not the only one that is doing badly on this class.

The loss of interest in Anibal is really great, but it is manageable to a degree. My

observations were accurate after all, even though some results were not expected. I am amazed to

know how teachers think of Anibal without doing any proper observations. I confess that I see

that Anibal is irresponsible but only to a certain level. So, to name the issues those affect Anibal,

I would say that they are: a. loss of interest, b. irresponsibility, and c. lack of study skills. Now,

all this effects come from something else: his social life.

Even though this is true, these problems are manageable. I have sat to talk to Anibal a

couple of times to get to know him more and I have discovered that this kid, not only is he

brilliant, but this kid has a social life anyone would desire. This kid contacts artists to sing or

play in parties or special occasions. To the teachers, Anibal was always the problem. Yet, after

knowing this, I believe the class (12-8) was disrupted because these kids knew how was Anibal’s

life outside of school and thought of him as someone real cool.

After discovering Anibal’s social life, I now know why he loses interest in school. For

him, he has better things to do than being in school. Anibal didn’t enter the classrooms the

second week of March. He stayed outside the classrooms hanging out with Harold Fernandez,

the youngster who is the devil for the twelfth grade teachers (some of them, it seems). During my

visit to Anibal’s house, I discovered that his mother, also, dislikes Harold very much. She

doesn’t want Anibal to be with Harold.

Comparison with Initial Handling of the Problem

Anibal’s problem in school goes beyond what teachers or I, myself, could do to help. The

problem with Anibal is in his mother’s and father’s hands. Still, Anibal’s father is really

possessive and likes things his own way (the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree) and his mother

works almost all day and when she arrives at her house she receives phone calls and has to attend

them because, most of them, have to do with her work. Still, Anibal needs from his parents. This

kid has a life outside his house because he doesn’t have a life in his house. He himself has stated

that in his house he does nothing and that he doesn’t socialize with his mother because “she

keeps her stuff and I keep mine” (words by Anibal Miranda).

The initiative to work with Anibal was to address his lack of study skills, his

irresponsibility, and try to get him more interested in the classroom. Still, school is limited to

five hours proximally. He spends more time outside school than inside school. In other words,

teachers are limited to what they can do. However, his mother is not, even though she works a

lot. Family is family and Anibal needs from his family.

Since Anibal was in intermediate school, he took public cars to get to his house. He used

to study in Juncos and travel in public cars all over to Caguas. This was the initiative of a life

outside his house. This process repeats itself all over the grades. His mother was in this process,

but not all times and not all the time. Also, his father wanted things done his way and didn’t want

him to study in some places where it could have been comfortable for his mother to keep an eye

on. His mother has taken initiative to work with Anibal, but no more than that. She stated that

she admits that her family needs her, but that she has to work in order to sustain them (words

from Diana L. Ortiz).

Anibal needs from his family and not from his outside life. It is sad because he is already

seventeen (17). Managing things from this point on would be like going through a hill. Still, it is

possible. It will be painful, but it will also be possible. His mother should spend more time with

her family. A child is a gift from God and they should be conserved always. How Anibal’s life

would be if his mother had been always with him? How his life would have been if he didn’t

pass through a divorce? Things sure would be different. Still, we cannot judge no one and we

cannot turn back time.

Work Plan Chart 2

Dates Activities Purpose Persons InvolvedTuesday, February 21, 2012

Work oral report about free topic

Anibal has problems understanding the English Language. I believe that this could affect the way he projects. So, I told him to keep an index card about important points in his report.

Michael J. Sosa Cardona and Anibal Miranda

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Work on a plan to read “Cleopatra” without getting bored.

Anibal gets disinterest a lot. So, we started to work on how we could get him reading the novel without getting bored and how to gain data from a novel.

Michael J. Sosa Cardona, Anibal Miranda, Diana L. Ortiz (Anibal’s mother)

March 8, 2012 Progress report Talk to Anibal to see how much progress he has made. Seems like Anibal is not entering classes.

Michael J. Sosa Cardona and Anibal Miranda

March 11, 2012 Progress report Anibal was never found to work with.

Michael J. Sosa Cardona and Anibal Miranda

March 12, 2012 Progress report Anibal was absent on this day.

Michael J. Sosa Cardona and Anibal Miranda

March 14, 2012 Progress report and work on future activities (like the next oral reports)

Go to Anibal’s house in order to gather data and see progress. Also, approach more his mother to start arriving to conclusions.

Michael J. Sosa Cardona, Anibal Miranda, Diana L. Ortiz

*Note: In some field trips, Anibal stayed in school. These opportunities were taken to get to know him more and approach him to know how him more and learn how to work with him. These kinds of “approaches” were not put in the table because they were never planned. They came with the moment and I took those moments to my favor. Also, sufficient data was gathered from these kinds of “approaches” to cover all information that was missed from the first and second table. In other words, the unplanned activities (thanks to the field trips) made this work a better progress than planned activities.