SECOND STAGE TEACHI~G PROBLEMS IN APUBLIC SCHOOL CLASS FOR EMOTIONALLYDISTURBED CHILDREN

Ruth M. Turner) B.A. and Lawrence Claman, M.D.

During the initial months of a special class for emotionally disturbedchildren, the major concern of observers is usually: "How do youmanage these children?" Indeed, they are hostile toward adults inauthority, rebellious about school rules, and resistant to academictasks. Teaching strategies which deal with this initial stage werediscussed in detail by the authors in an earlier paper (1967).

When the main problems of management of this initial stage havebeen worked out on a group and individual basis over a period ofweeks or months, a second stage evolves during which the majorconcern is: "How do you teach these children?" The major prob­lems for the teacher then become those of academic assessment,remediation in areas of deficit, curriculum planning and coordina­tion, and integration into regular classes..Although behavior man­agement is still important, it is no longer the primary concern.Teaching strategies which deal with the problems of this secondstage will be the main focus of this paper.

The class to be reported on is in the Dallas Independent SchoolDistrict and is one of the six original pilot classes in Texas estab­lished under a 1963 law. The Dallas class was established in a regular

Mrs. Turner was the teacher 01 the Pilot Special Class lor Emotionally . DisturbedChildren of the Dallas Independent School District. Dr. Claman is Director, DallasChild Guidance Clinic, and psychiatric consultant for the Pilot Special Class.

This is a revised version of a paper presented at the Annual Meet ing of the Ameri­can Association of Psychiatric Clinics for Children, November 9, 1968, New York.

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Teaching Problems in a Public School Class 145

school in a middle-class neighborhood under the auspices of thespecial education department. The class had been in operation forfour years at the time of this study. The maximum enrollment atanyone time was 9 children between the ages of 9 and 13. Therewere 5 boys and 3 girls in the class during the second and thirdyears, which are described in this report. They had significant long­term behavioral and academic problems. All the children had beenevaluated psychologically and were found to have emotional dis­orders which were in no instance of psychotic proportions. Six ofthe 8 children received outside psychotherapeutic help, as did theirparents.

The model of the class was designated by the pilot program staff astransitional. It was to begin as a self-contained unit with provisionsfor moving the children back into regular classrooms when theycould tolerate the change. Return to regular class was held up as agoal for all of the children. This goal provided a strong pull in thedirection of more acceptable behavior and increased efforts towardmastery of skills.

During the self-contained first year, the class went through aperiod of considerable confusion, disorder, and regressive behaviorsimilar to the initial stage mentioned in the study by Morse et al.(1964). The children were very hostile and resistant to the demandsof regular school. Strategies to minimize the barriers to learningwere discussed by the authors in an earlier paper (1967) and in­cluded a conscious effort to make this classroom different from "reg­ular school." A deliberate attempt was made to provide materialsother than the conventional textbooks, maps, and flashcards withwhich these students had persistently experienced failure. Un­graded books were used. Competition was minimized. No gradeswere given. Much of each day was spent in kindergarten-type readi­ness activities planned around a central theme which had learningpotential but did not seem like school.

According to Morse (1965), "When [children] begin to improve,one of the first signs is often a request for school like 'school.' " Thiswas true of the children in the special class. As their behavior im­proved they asked to spend more time in the regular classroom. Astheir resistance to academic tasks decreased, they requested "rear'

146 Ruth M. Turner-Lawrence Claman

school books. Karl, who had been very indifferent to schoolworkearlier, started a paper over several times so that it would be perfect.Arthur used an obscene word on the playground, and the rest of theclass demanded that he act more like a normal student. Kim broughtan elaborate notebook to class saying, "I am going to work real hardin school now and get caught up." These were indications that thechildren were beginning to see themselves as learners who had at­tained a measure of readiness for more concentrated academic efforts.

Although the class had moved into this second stage, the childrenstill had characteristics which made achievement difficult. Individu­ally, they continued to feel very unsure of their academic capabili­ties. They were distractible and could not handle a full school day.Most of them had academic deficits of 1 to 3 years in specific sub­jects. Their achievement levels covered a 5-grade range. And as aclass, they continued to function poorly in group situations.

All of these factors made teaching difficult. The teacher attemptedto devise programs for each child which recognized his new desire tolearn and which provided graduated steps to meet the goal of thespecial class, that is, a full-time return to the regular classroom.

ROOM ARRANGEMENT AND EQUIPMENT

As the class moved into the second stage, changes were made inthe room arrangement and equipment to make school more like"school." In the first stage, the classroom had been planned to looklike a place for fun and gratification. The desks had been so arrangedwithin movable partitions that each child had his own private office.The two group tables in the center of the room were used largely forart and play activities. The equipment included building toys, dress­up clothes, and games. As the second stage emerged, additional deskswere brought in and arranged in rows in front of the chalkboard toresemble the more traditional classroom. The group tables were in­creasingly used for small group teaching. Gradually most of the playmaterials were removed and replaced by remediation tools and con­ventional classroom equipment. The new supplies included concretearithmetic aids, a simple teaching machine, a typewriter, a studyskills library, a science kit, and a tape recorder.

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ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING PROBLEMS

147

The preparation of the children for a successful return to theregular classroom required a planned reduction of their achievementdeficits. As the children became motivated to "catch up," an attemptwas made to evaluate their specific learning problems. This had notbeen possible with any degree of reliability during the early stage ofthe class because the children were so negative about school. Astheir resistance decreased, more careful observations about learningproblems could be made. For example, Karl was initially very hostileand negative about his work and composed his written assignmentshastily and illegibly. Later, when he could work carefully, it becameevident that the illegibility of his handwriting was not entirely dueto his haste and resentment: he also lacked the knowledge of howto form several letters of the alphabet.

As part of these educational evaluations, all of the children weregiven the Kephart Perceptual Rating test (1960). This is a series oftests which measures such items as motor development, eye-hand co­ordination, body image, ocular control, and form reproduction.None of the 8 children had difficulty performing the tasks outlinedin this test.

The children with severe reading problems were tested againstthe Spache Diagnostic Reading Scales (1963). This test measures thestudent's word attack skills, comprehension, and word recognition.It also enables one to estimate the child's actual and potential read­ing levels. With some children the test provided clues to readingproblems. For example, Kim showed poor phonetic skills. Withother children no reason for a reading lag was revealed, but a differ­ence between their actual reading level and potential reading levelwas noted.

Furthermore, informal tests based on training procedures listedin an unpublished paper by Frostig (1966) were used. The areameasured in these tests included the ability to express ideas throughmovement, memory for visual sequences, and auditory memory. Onthese tests Louise, who had a severe spelling problem, revealed apoor memory for visual sequences. Mildred, who had difficulty un­derstanding and remembering oral instructions, registered a poorauditory memory.

148 Ruth M. Turner-Lawrence Claman

The information from these evaluations, classroom observations,and school histories of the children provided the teacher with datato guide her tentative remediation plans for each child. These plansfocused primarily on remediation in the basic skill subjects and noeffort was made to cover all areas of the curriculum because of thechildren's inability to tolerate a full school day.

REMEDIATION ORIENTATION

Kirk and Bateman (1962) discuss two approaches to remediation.One approach emphasizes the development of the areas of majordeficit through direct training procedures. The second approach "isto capitalize on the assets of the individual rather than pay directattention to his handicaps."

Both approaches were used by the teacher, sometimes in com"bination. An example of the first approach was the use of a multi­sensory method developed by Fernald (1943). This method intro­duces reading and spelling words by "dividing" them into syllablesprinted in different colors. The child writes the word in large scripton the chalkboard. In this way the whole arm goes through the mo­tion of the word. As the child writes the word he says the letteraloud. Then he feels the letters as he traces them with his finger.The final step is writing the word without looking at it.

This method helped these easily distractible children to concen­trate on their academic tasks. It also provided support to those wholacked ability in some areas. For example, Louise, the poor spellerwho lacked the ability to remember visual sequence, recalled 69 per­cent of her spelling words after one 6-week period of study by theFernald method. After a second 6-week period she remembered 84percent of her words.

An example .of the second approach of utilizing a child's assets in­volved Kim, whose poor self-image proved to be a major block toher learning. She was fixated at a very dependent level emotionallyand read 4 grade levels below her potential ability. She spelled outeach word phonetically at a painfully slow rate and said, "I soundlike a baby, don't I?" Formal reading instructions were eliminatedwith her. The teacher emphasized her aptitude for numbers and ex­cellent memory for science facts in an effort to help her see herself

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as someone with the ability to function academically at her chrono­logical level.

Many of the students felt so uncertain about their mental abilitythat the teacher continued to search for ways to give the childrenhope and confidence in their ability to make academic progress.Materials arranged sequentially such as reading laboratories andstudy skills libraries were used frequently. The children began thesematerials below their ability level so that they experienced successeasily. Moving through these lessons gave them a concrete feeling ofprogress. The teacher saved the completed assignments. From timeto time she would take out an old paper and would compare it withone being currently done to show the student his improvement.

INCREASED EXPECTATIONS

Other steps than the new room arrangements and remediationefforts were taken to help the children approach the demands of aregular classroom. These included using tests, increasing the lengthand difficulty of work assignments, and giving the children groupwork, as they became ready for them. As expected, each new de­mand usually created anxiety 'and some regression in performanceand behavior. At these times, the teacher would provide an abun­dance of what Redl and Wineman (1952) have called "hurdle help,"that is, concrete aid, reassurance, and an open discussion of thefeelings generated by the crisis. As the anxiety around the increaseddemands diminished, this support was gradually removed.

An example of the children's reaction to an increased demandoccurred with the introduction of tests. When the teacher announcedthe first test, she openly recognized the feelings the students hadabout tests. She emphasized that the results would be used to helpher plan rather than to provide grades, and she distributed candyalong with the test papers. In spite of these efforts to minimize anx­iety, the behavior of the children during their first test revealedtheir panic. George scooted his chair across the room and into thehall. Karl enclosed himself in a small area with portable screensand threw large quantities of scratch paper over the top of thescreens. Joel consumed suckers throughout the test, yelling, "Thisis hard." Mildred wrote down meaningless answers and yawned,

150 Ruth M. Turner-Lawrence Claman

"This is simple." Along with their panic, however, the childrencould express pride about this step the class was taking. Several chil­dren commented to visitors, "We take tests now like they do inregular class and the teacher doesn't tell us the answers."

These tests were repeated each Friday. After two or three monthsthe children seemed much calmer during these test periods andbehavior such as movement of furniture, throwing paper, and mum­bling became less frequent. The teacher was able to increase thedifficulty of the tests as the children became more capable of record­ing on the tests what they actually knew.

The increased use of group work provided an additional chal­lenge which many teachers of these special classes have found diffi­cult. Morse et al. (1964) reported that very few teachers in the pub­lic school classes for the emotionally disturbed use group work at allbecause they feared that placing the children in groups would leadto "pure chaos." The first attempts at group work in this special classproduced the chaos described in the literature. As the class con­vened, the children cried, "Who stole my pencil?" or "This work­sheet is stupid!" All of them scrambled for the same seat. Sillinesserupted frequently. Sometimes a word would trigger a discussionunrelated to the planned lesson. The rivalry and contagion, thepanic over newness, and the disruptive discussions interfered mark­edly with academic instructions.

Strategies were devised to minimize these problems and to pro­vide steps toward success in group work. For example, it helped forthe teacher to verbalize the class's difficulties with group work fromtime to time. During a particularly chaotic session she said, "I knowit is hard for you to sit together and work on the same assignment,but I think we can learn to do it." Rivalry and contagion were de­creased through the use of highly organized procedures. Seats wereassigned and the teacher asked for answers to the worksheet ques­tions according to this seating arrangement. The content of thematerial chosen for the group sessions was as neutral as possible toeliminate most of the disruptive associations. The learning poten­tial of group sessions was also increased by the use of programmedworksheets consisting of a highly structured presentation of con­tent. The reading level was kept low. Each worksheet presentedone simple new idea, the next another new idea, and the earlier

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one was reviewed. In this fashion, the panic over newness was keptat a tolerable level, and success was built into the procedure becauseof the small increments and frequent reviews. The class had 4- to

5-week lesson series in such areas as measurement, language rules,geography concepts, and the use of the dictionary.

The teacher gradually took other measures to prepare the childrenfor their return to regular class. For instance, she began to functionmore as a disciplinarian. She openly expressed disapproval as wellas approval, and she tolerated less often behavior which was inap­propriate in a regular classroom.

The teacher also encouraged the children to be more concernedabout their performance, both by her attitude and by the use of areward system. During the initial stage, she gave no grades and thechildren could take suckers from her desk whenever they wantedthem. As the class entered the second stage, the teacher began togive grades. She evaluated each student's use of work periods andposted these evaluations on the bulletin board. She kept the con­tainer of free suckers on her desk , but added a bonus box withspecial candy beside it. No one could have candy from the bonus boxunless he had earned it. As this orientation became established, thefree suckers meant less and less to the children. Earning candy fromthe bonus box became more satisfying to them. On several occasionsthe teacher observed a child take a free sucker, put it back, anddelay gratification until he had completed his work and earned hisbonus.

INTEGRATION INTO REGULAR CLASSES

The final step in preparing the children for a full-time return toregular class was their gradual integration into regular classes fora part of each school day. This move required the strong supportof the principal so that the school faculty would continue to acceptresponsibility for these "problem" children and not keep them iso­lated in the special class. Gradual integration served not only to re­expose the children on a time-limited basis to the behavioral expec­tations and academic demands of a regular class, but also encouragedthe children to identify with their normal peer group. This healthypull to become accepted members of their regular class group placed

152 Ruth M. Turner-Lawrence Claman

the children in conflict regarding their membership in the specialclass. Some children responded to this conflict by demanding full­time return to the regular class before they were ready for it. Otherscompared competitively the time they spent in the regular class withthe time spent by their classmates. Some children refused to do anywork in the special class saying they had already been overworkedin regular class and it was unfair of the special class teacher to givethem additional assignments.

The teacher had to function as a program planner and curriculumcoordinator in handling the integration of these children into regu­lar class. As each child became settled in the special class and wasconsidered ready for part-time integration, the teacher attempted toplan a regular class placement which seemed most likely to succeed.Sometimes this integration was arranged within a week of specialclass placement, at other times not for many months or over a year.The appropriate teacher, class, and academic subject had to beselected. The length of the class was a factor since regular classperiods varied from 30 minutes to 2 hours. The principal played animportant part in this planning process since he was familiar withhis faculty and the classes at each grade level.

Joel's experience provides an example of the integration planning.He began his regular class placement with arithmetic, which wastaught by the coach who had developed a good relationship withJoel on the playground. Arithmetic was, furthermore, the subjectwith which Joel experienced the most success. Prior to placing himin the arithmetic class, the special class teacher gave him specialwork and practice tests to make it fairly certain that he wouldachieve academic success from the start and so minimize his anxiety.She also gave him special help with his arithmetic homework dur­ing the first month of his integration into the class.

On some occasions regular class integration programs had to berevised. Jeff was transferred into the special class from a residentialtreatment center in another city where he had attended publicschool full time. He was a hyperactive, impulsive boy who did wellwhen actively working at tasks, but had trouble with waiting peri­ods. In planning his initial program, the teacher decided to placehim in regular classes for most of his school day instead of havinghim spend most of his time in the special class. This plan. worked

Teaching Problems in a Public School Class 153

well for much of the first semester. However, he then began to haveincreasingly severe behavior difficulties in his regular class program.A staff conference was held to review his adjustment and to identifythe specific nature of his difficulty. The conference revealed thatJeff was functioning well in mathematics, a class which lasted onehour, and well in physical education, a class in which he was phys­ically active. He was also functioning well during the first hour ofa well-structured language arts class. However, he was a seriousmanagement problem during the second hour of this class and dur­ing an unstructured library class. He would talk, make noises, andtease and provoke the other children. In addition, he was very de­manding of attention and resisted doing academic work during histime in the special class. It appeared that he was unable to cope withless structured time in a regular class situation, and his behaviorin the special class suggested that he was experiencing a regressivepull toward a closer, more dependent relationship with the teacher,which he had missed when he started the program. A revised pro­gram was worked out which kept Jeff in regular class in mathematicsand physical education, reduced his language arts time to one hour,and withdrew him from the library class. This gave him an addi­tional hour and a half in the special class. He adjusted well to thisprogram for the rest of the school year.

The increasing pace of integration of children into regular classesforced the special class teacher to spend more time functioning inthe role of a therapeutically oriented homework tutor. She placeda high priority on helping the children succeed in their regularclass assignments. However, she often felt these assignments were toolong and difficult, and she resented having to help the childrencomplete them. After reviewing this problem with the psychiatricconsultant, she decided to continue assisting with outside homework,but reduced her resentment by helping the children do only enoughof each assignment to pass. The children were told they would haveto complete their work themselves to obtain more than a passinggrade. This procedure also left the initiative and the credit forhigher achievement with the children.

The special class teacher's role as a coordinator was a difficultone, often frustrating, and almost impossible to carry out con­sistently well. The job of establishing and maintaining communica-

154 Ruth M. Turner-Lawrence Claman

tion for each child in regular class with two to five teachers scatteredthroughout a large two-story elementary school was formidable. Inaddition, some of the regular class teachers had always functionedindependently. They were not accustomed to communicating withother teachers about problems they were having with a child unlessthey reached a crisis situation. In some ways they resented the spe­cial class teacher's chance to have a small class. They did not wanther "problem" children if they would not behave. Major break­downs in communication occurred. For example, Kim was attendingsocial studies class. Although the special class teacher had receivedno word that she was having difficulty, Kim was given a failingmark on her 6 weeks report card. She was overwhelmed and sobbeduncontrollably. On another occasion a regular class teacher wentto the principal and tearfully demanded that Karl be suspendedfrom school because he persisted in bringing a metal comb to classand drumming on his desk. Prior to this time the special classteacher knew nothing about Karl's provocative behavior.

When major breakdowns in communication occurred, the specialclass teacher made special attempts to re-establish contact with theregular class teacher. To help with this problem she designed a be­havior checklist. This checklist was filled out by the regular classteacher every 6 weeks and returned to the special class teacher. Thechecklist revealed persistent behavior and academic problems beforea crisis situation developed. When such problems were noted andconfirmed by direct communication with the regular class teacher,a staff meeting was held to discuss and plan further for the particu­lar child. This meeting was attended by the regular class teacherswho worked with the child, the psychiatric consultant, the specialclass teacher, the principal, and the school nurse. An example ofsuch a staff meeting was mentioned above in the case of Jeff.

The principal, as the central authority in the school, was an im­portant person in helping with coordination and communication.When conflicts arose it was his job to mediate between the needsof the children, the needs of the special class teacher, and the needsof the regular teaching staff. For example, the special class ate inthe cafeteria at first during the same lunch period as the first grade.The first grade teachers were very involved in maintaining quiet andin training their new students in "correct" cafeteria behavior. This

Teaching Problems in a Public School Class 155

orientation was in conflict with the orientation of the special classteacher. She allowed talking in the cafeteria as part of her effort tomake mealtime a meaningful social experience for her children. Thisdifference upset the first grade teachers, who felt the special classteacher was undercutting their discipline and cafeteria training. Inturn, the special class children expressed openly their angry feelingsas they listened to the first grade teachers supervising the 6-year-oldchildren. When the special class teacher discussed this situation withthe principal, he resolved the conflict by scheduling the special classto eat one half hour earlier when no other class ·was in the cafeter ia.

SUMMARY

The specific learning problems and academic deficits of each childbecome the primary focus of the teacher and are her major challengeduring the second stage of a special class for emotionally disturbedchildren when acting out and regressive behavior have diminished.Special education assessment and teaching skills are required by theteacher to plan for each child an individual learning program gearedtoward preparing him to return to regular class.

The experience with an up-per elementary public school class foremotionally disturbed children during its second and third yearsis described. The classroom was reorganized to look more like regu­lar school , and play materials were largely replaced by educationalequipment. Techniques utilized to assess learning deficits and prob­lems are described. A remediation orientation is described whichemphasizes the child's strengths to help him experience ongoingsuccess while strengthening the areas in which he shows deficits.Multisensory learning techniques were utilized to help with thedeficits . Preparing the child for regular class included planning in­creased expectations in behavior control, performance, and achieve­ment. The problems and ameliorative strategies arising from thegradual reintegration of the special class children into the regularclassroom are described.

156 Ruth M. Turner-Lawrence Claman

REFERENCES

FERNALD, G. M. (1943), Remedial Techniques in Basic School Subjects. New York:McGraw-Hill.

FROSTlG, M. (1966), Modification of teaching .procedures and programs for childrenwith specific learning disabilities (unpublished).

KEPHART, N. C. (1960), The Slow Learner in the Classroom. Columbus: Merrill.KIRK, S. A. & BATEMAN, B. (1962), Diagnosis and remediation of learning disabilities;

Except. Child., 29:73-78.MORSE, W. C. (1965), Education of maladjusted and disturbed children. In: Conflict in

the Classroom, ed. N. J. Long, W. C. Morse, & R. G. Newman. Belmont, Calif.:Wadsworth, pp. 382-389.

-- CUTLER, R., & FINK, A. (1964), Public School Classes for the Emotionally Handi­capped: A Research Analysis. Washington, D.C.: Council for Exceptional Children.N.E.A.

REDL, F. & WINEMAN, D. (1952), Controls from Within. Glencoe, Ill.: Free Press.SPACHE, G. D. (1963), Manual: Diagnostic Reading Scales. Monterey: California Test

Bureau.TURNER, R. M. & CLAMAN, L. (1967), Teaching strategies in a public school class for

emotionally disturbed children. This Journal, 6:86-97.