KristenG_TheFirstPartLast

__ Journal Article Assignment: __ Solar, E. (2011). Prove them wrong. //TEACHING Exceptional Children, 44(1),// 40-45.


 * Summary: ** //Prove Them Wrong// addresses secondary school teachers about students with an emotional behavioral disorder, otherwise known as EBD, which according to the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is an emotional or behavioral disorder (disability) as at least one defined characteristic exhibited over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The characteristics being: (a) an inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors; (b) an inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers; (c) inappropriate types of behaviors or feelings under normal circumstances; (d) a general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression; (e) a tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with person or school problems. The article starts out by telling a few little stories about students with EBD. It talks about the student with EBD and describes things they may do or feel and how teachers can address these issues. Next it addresses how important a safe classroom is to a student with EBD. Not only safety in a physical aspect, but also in an emotional sense where students are open to express themselves. Then, //Prove Them Wrong// explains how important the parents are and how important the teacher’s relationship with the parents is. The article finishes by saying what the role of a teacher is and how important and detrimental it is to the student.


 * Reflection ** : After reading Pr//ove Them Wrong//, I came to the conclusion that this article is very relative to this class. Students with EBD are their culture, just as students with Autism, but they have their own set of special needs. All semester we talked about the different cultures and students with EBD are one of them. We also talked about the needs of students. Earlier in the semester, we referred to students by colors when addressing their tendencies and their needs and how to deal with these students, students with EBD are just a special color.

** Impact on classroom: ** //Prove Them Wrong// would have a major impact on classrooms in secondary schools. For me, this article is really informative and will have a huge impact on my classroom because I want to be a special education teacher and primarily teach students with EBD. It addresses how to help students with EBD and not just brush them to the side and mistake their behavior as just a disruptive student. Also, it helps show me the kind of classroom I want for my students and how I can make my relationship with them not only benefit me, but also them. Lastly, this article provided me with ideas on how to establish a relationship with the student’s parents and how important it is. The conclusion had the biggest impact on me. Solar (2011) says, “More important, they will remember you for the rest of their lives as one of the individuals who never gave up on them” (p.45).

//The Last Part First// is about a teenage boy named Bobby who on the day of his 16th birthday, his girlfriend Tia tells him she is pregnant. This book is about the struggle of African-American teenagers who are faced with the options and choices needed to make when put into situations that will affect their lives together. //The Last Party First// is broken into four parts with chapters alternating from “now” to “then.” The “now” being after Feather, their daughter is born, and the “then” being before the birth of Feather when Tia is pregnant. Bobby is faced with a tough decision after Tia has complications during child birth and tells us about his life and how he is coping with his situation.


 * Group(s) being depicted:** African-Americans, teenagers


 * Change of perception in the classroom:** In //The Last Part First//, Bobby doesn’t get much help from his teachers, and being a young mother and experiencing parenthood I understand the sleepless nights and the tiresome days, so wanting to be a high school teacher the chances of a student of mine having a child is likely. I would offer any help I could to this student. Possibly giving assignments ahead of time, so they know what to expect for the week and have the opportunity to work ahead during the down times of the child’s day.


 * Enhance your cultural awareness of the students:** In today’s culture, teenagers are engaging in sexual relationships young, and this book shows this. Teenage pregnancy doesn’t just happen to African-American, like in //The Last Part First//, but to all different races.


 * New Insights:** When I think of teenage boys, the only words that come to mind are immature, impulsive and only care about themselves; //The Last Part First// shows that there are boys who are ready to be men when it is called upon them, boys who are ready to sacrifice their lives for someone else and that it only takes one thing to change someone’s life for good.


 * Relevance to teaching:** Bobby, Tia and Feather’s situation is something teenagers face on a daily basis. Other than the simple fact that teenagers need to know the chances they are taking when they choose to engage in sex and teenagers are doing so nowadays, //The Last Part First// isn’t really relevant to teaching, but more to learning how to help a teenage parent be successful in school.


 * Use this book with your students:** Because I am pursuing to be a special education and math teacher, this book isn’t something I would use with my students, but maybe a health education teacher would use this book.


 * Recommendations:** I recommend this book for high school students who may or may not be faced with a teenage pregnancy. It is a good and easy read, and very easy to relate to.