Educators define at-risk behaviors of a student as those actions or characteristics which are not usually displayed by his/her coevals, and which may produce a negative effect on his/her health or academic performance (Bender & Neutens, 1997, p 11). Speaking about this thirteen-year-old adolescent, we can single out the following at-risk behaviors
- daydreaming that results in poor concentration;
- unsociability that leads to alienation from classmates;
- restlessness or lack of perseverance. All of these issues must be addressed by his/her teacher. For this purpose it, it is necessary to develop a plan of intervention.
Daydreaming or attention deficit presents significant difficulties for both teachers and learners because it decreases the capacity of a persons memory, critical thinking ability, and participation in the discussions etc. There are several methods to cope with this issue; one of them is to remove this student from a reinforcing setting into setting with lower reinforcing value (Bowen et al, 2004, 288). In other words, this pupil should be placed in an environment where he/she will have to be constantly alert and attentive, for example, at the front desk. The presence of the instructor will act as a powerful stimulus for him.
Another strategy is to engage him in group work. A person, who has to communicate with other people, unavoidably becomes more concentrated. It is important that his teammates are on friendly terms with him. This adolescent must not feel like an outsider in this team. One of the most important tasks for a teacher is to ensure that this teenager is not excluded from the group (Bender & Neutens, 1997).
Thirdly, propensity to daydreaming can be alleviated by alternating the assignments this student and his/her activities. It should be borne in mind that attention weakens if a learner has to do monotonous tasks. For instance, an individual is rather unlikely to remain focused if he reads or writes for more than thirty or forty minutes. Therefore, it is necessary to make a pause or switch to a different assignment.
It should be noted that daydreaming may be due to the fact that this pupil does not get enough sleep. This is why a teacher should talk to him and explain the importance of biorhythm. A person of his/her age should sleep at least seven or eight hours. The thing is that sleep deprivation can be the underlying cause of many disorders, including lack of concentration, slow reaction or even depression (Bender & Neutens, 1997). So, we can argue that explanatory work can be extremely beneficial as an intervention measure.
Unsociability or reticence is another disturbing form of at-risk behavior. This student has very few friends in the class. One of the possible interventions has already been described in the previous section; it lies in encouraging this student to participate in teamwork and class discussions. He/she may be asked to assess the responses of others and uphold ones opinion. It is also possible to assign group-projects to a class. These projects may last for one or two weeks.
This will offer students a good opportunity to know each other better. Thus, in this way this teenager may become more communicative. It should be taken into consideration that these interventions must not be conspicuous; they must not hurt the feelings of the teenager, otherwise this student may view oneself as abnormal. We should mention that in some cases, unsociability can be ascribed to low self-esteem, and it is vital to raise it (Bowen et al, 2004). So, it is advisable to praise this student, if he shows good results. A teacher may also assign him a task, demanding responsibility and accuracy. This will be a token of trust, which will enhance his/her motivation. The educator must make sure that this adolescent does not regard oneself inferior to others.
Restlessness or lack of perseverance is much more difficult to manage. The thing is that such conduct is more typical of children of seven or ten, who are not used to working on the same task for a long period of time; sometimes, they find it very hard to sit in a chair during the course of a lesson. As it has been previously pointed out, teacher should alternate tasks, assigned to this teenager. The activities of the students must not be monotonous because monotony is one the reasons why learners may abandon academic tasks.
Careful monitoring may also be an effective strategy, to be employed by a teacher. The educator should ask this student whether he/she needs help on a particular assignment or whether there is something unclear. Proffer of help must be unobtrusive otherwise this adolescent may view oneself as the one, who constantly lags behind. We should say that lack of parental control is one of the reasons why students can assume an irresponsible attitude to their studies.
We should remember that this teenager lives a divorced parent. Thus, an educator may ask this parent to pay more attention to the academic performance of his/her off-spring. It has to be admitted that this analysis lacks more specific data, particularly: the performance of this student in various subjects, his/her IQ rate, interactions with the opposite sex and so forth. Yet, interventions, described in this essay, may help to resolve many of his/her problems.
Reference List
Bender S. J. & Neutens J (1997). Teaching health science: elementary and middle school. New York: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Bowen. J.M. Jenson W.R. & Clark L.(2004). School-based interventions for students with behavior problems. New York: Springer.