Tim Kelly: A School Responds
to a Family in Need
Teaching Case
Holly Kreider
1999
Contents:
Case Narrative
Tim meanders toward his second grade classroom after a difficult ride in on
the school bus. Feeling cooled off after his angry outburst at another child
who had taken his seat on the bus, Tim greets his teacher with an affectionate
hug. She returns it with enthusiasm. She surveys Tim's disheveled appearance—uncombed
hair, dirty t-shirt, and unbathed body—and gently suggests that he wash
up in the principal's bathroom.
When he returns, Tim plops down at his desk at the front of the classroom
and gobbles up the breakfast snack his teacher has provided. Then he opens up
his backpack and proudly presents his teacher with a crumpled, but completed
homework sheet. His teacher's thoughts turned immediately to the impending decision
about whether to retain Tim or promote him to the third grade.
Terri Kline, Tim's Teacher
“I've taught in the primary grades in this school for over thirty years.
My own children even went to this school. I love all the children I work with
and am especially fond of Tim. Because I teach in a multi-grade classroom, I've
had Tim in my class for two years. He's a wonderful kid, very thoughtful and
very sweet. He and I have a very close relationship and he works his level best
in my presence to do what he thinks is expected of him.”
“At the same time, Tim has serious problems that are really affecting
his relationships with classmates and his math performance, which is well below
grade level. So much so that I'm beginning to think he should be retained in
the second grade. I mean, third grade is a whole different environment with
academic and social demands that Tim may not be able to weather quite yet. But
we can't make that decision without someone at the school talking to his mother
about it first.”
“Basically, the problem is that Tim often comes to school unprepared
for class, both academically and socially. His homework is often missing or
destroyed. He doesn't come in clean. He wears the same clothes over and over
again, even though he does have others. He has problems managing his anger.
I personally think he's just not getting enough supervision at home.”
“Tim and his brothers and sisters live with his mother, Maureen, in what
seems like a very hectic household. Maureen works a late shift, so she's usually
sleeping when her kids leave for school. I'm guessing he doesn't have a regular
bedtime. He gets himself up in the morning and gets himself dressed. He doesn't
have breakfast at home—he eats breakfast here. Tim really feels the absence
of his mom at home, I think, which seems to make his need for attention in school
even greater. He normally doesn't see his mother before he leaves for school
in the morning, so he's starting off the day without contact with her and without
even a hug. I think he's a very needy child, emotionally.”
“On the other hand, Tim's such a warm, fuzzy kind of kid that something
obviously has been right in order for him to be as gentle and as loving as he
usually is. So I have to give his mom credit. I think she wants to be a part
of his school life. I also think she's interested in him doing well, but she
doesn't seem to want to hear about the difficulties he's having.”
“He's especially had a lot of problems managing his anger lately. This
has happened before and it's resurfaced in the last few months. The school guidance
counselor and I can't help thinking it's connected to visits with his father.
Even though Tim doesn't see him very often, each time he returns from a visit,
he acts out a lot at school. His father has a history of violence and was released
from prison last year. I really worry about his influence on Tim. The first
time Tim went off with his father, his behavior was very out of bounds when
he returned. I would give my right arm to know what happened over this last
vacation to result in such a change in Tim's behavior.”
“But even if I do find out all the answers about what's going on in Tim's
home life that's affecting him so much in school, it's not my place to ask his
mother to do more than she already does, nor can I do anything more than I already
do for him. And I'm not convinced that what I already do, or what his next teacher
is likely to do, will be enough to ensure that he can succeed in third grade.”
Tim's Mother, Maureen
“I think it's really important for families to help their kids and go to
their schools and stuff. I think you have to take an interest in your kids and
you have to be right there with them, which, in the last year and three months,
I haven't been able to do. And I think it makes a big difference.”
“In a perfect world, I'd be rich and could stay home all the time and
just be there. We'd be out there takin' our field trips, goin' to the park,
goin' over to the playground, takin' a walk in the night after supper, readin'
a book before bed. I hate my work situation. I mean, those kids never went to
bed without me readin' them a story. It's tough. They miss it and I miss it.”
“The main thing is that I'm not home with the kids, so I don't see them
much—if I'm lucky, I might see them an hour in the mornings every once
in a while, and I see them on the weekend. But that's when we do all our errands.
I go to the store—you know, haircuts, whatever. So it's hard to schedule.
I mean, I have a full schedule and a full house. With the three younger kids,
my two older kids, my fiance and his two kids, and my new grandbaby, the house
can get pretty crazy. Plus, this swing shift job I've had this past year really
makes it hard to spend time with my kids.”
“Sometimes when I'm gone, my older daughter Jane watches the kids, but
I can't count on her to read to them or help them with their homework.”
“As far as talkin' with Tim's teacher about his school work, the fall
parent-teacher conference was pretty upbeat, and Terri talked about how much
better he was doin' in reading. But she seemed kinda rushed. I know for me it's
mostly hard to make it to the school or even call 'cause of my schedule. Last
year I had to fight to get conferences in the early afternoon because I'm just
not up to doin' that so early in the morning after working all night.”
“I think it's a good sign that I don't hear from the school too much
now. Just the fact that I'm not getting phone calls about Tim actin' up on the
bus means he's probably gettin' better. I know he's still lashin' out at school
when he gets mad, and that the guidance counselor wants to help. She's gonna
start seein' him in school. She's supposed to call me back Thursday and set
it up. We talked the other day. She wanted to know how I felt about everything—Tim,
his problems, his school work, you know. I wanna make time to meet with her
and think about how to work together, but I'm just so busy, and I can't figure
out how to balance it all. How am I supposed to stay on top of Tim's school
stuff and my other kids' stuff, and also work these crazy hours?”
Shellie Scott, the Guidance Counselor
“I've worked at Lincoln School for almost twenty years, and it's a
small school in a small town, so parents and teachers know me pretty well. Parents
sometimes call me directly with their concerns, whether it's about a kid misbehaving,
or a case of child abuse, or a family problem. I have an open door policy and
a listening ear, so it's not uncommon for kids to come see me of their own initiative
sometimes. I'm also friendly with just about every community agency in the area,
and I try to connect kids to outside resources, like summer camp or family counseling,
when I can.”
“I have known Tim's family for a long time. In fact, 10 years ago, I
was the one who counseled the family when Tim's father first became violent
toward family members. Even back then, I think I counted nine people at one
point, living in that house. So Tim's mother has had a lot to deal with. It's
so chaotic that things don't get enough attention and that nothing runs very
smoothly. I think that the kids sometimes get overlooked. I think Maureen works
very hard—I think she tries to balance it all. I don't know who could do
it.”
“I think that Tim's mother hasn't been able to, or hasn't been very comfortable
about coming to school. So I imagine that Tim and the other kids might feel
that school isn't so important, since their mother doesn't spend any time with
their teachers. I'm sure that Maureen doesn't have the time—and I'm sure
that there isn't any reasonably quiet place in the house—to kind of sit
down and maybe read to the kids. The kids probably don't think much about their
own school work as a result. How could they work in such an environment?”
“Tim's behavior problems have been escalating, and I haven't had much
success reaching Maureen by phone, so I wrote her a letter expressing my concerns.
I didn't raise the retention issue that Terri's debating, because as an academic
issue I think she or the principal needs to take the lead, but I did discuss
Tim's need for more attention at home and his increasing behavior problems.
I thought she'd be angry with me when I read this letter to her—she had
missed a couple of meetings with me and she wasn't following through on some
things. But I didn't know how else to reach her and I believe firmly in being
direct with parents and informing them frequently about their children's school
progress. I just hope the letter I ended up sending her doesn't make her feel
totally annoyed or alienated.”
Tim's Mother, Maureen Kelly
“I think Shellie is great, really easy to talk to. She's someone I can
say anything to. Plus she's much easier to reach on the phone than Tim's teacher,
because she's not teaching a class or something when I'm off work and trying
to call.”
“Shellie sent me this nasty letter. Well, it wasn't actually a nasty
letter, it's just her opinion of what's going on with the kids and why it's
going on. She basically wrote that I maybe wasn't giving my kids enough attention,
and I absolutely agree. You know, I've tried to help my kids though. Tim loves
to read and I just brought him home a book on dinosaurs. Each week, I also try
to keep one of the kids home for one day, so I can give them one day where it's
just the two of us, to do something. We'll just hang out, go out to lunch, maybe
get some books. We'll talk about feelings.”
“Of course, what I really want is a regular shift, even if it means taking
a cut in pay. I may have to work an extra couple of hours to make up for the
pay cut, but I'd do it. I've gotta get on the first shift. I liked it better
when I was going to the school and picking them up and seeing the teachers,
and saying ‘Hi’ every day. You know, volunteering in the kindergarten,
that kind of thing. Just bein' there, seeing how things are goin'. That's my
dream, and that's what's good for the kids.”
Edward West, the Principal
“I was really saddened when Terri mentioned her concern that Tim might
not be ready for the third grade. I really like Tim and am pretty familiar with
some of his problems on the school bus and in the playground, because I tend
to get involved with disciplinary problems outside of the classroom. So when
I see him in the hall, I always try to find out how he's been doing. I also
know he's made some progress on his reading, and sometimes I invite him to come
read a book to me.”
“Fortunately we're a small school with a close and experienced staff,
so we can give students that kind of individualized attention. Plus, I'll create
any excuse to spend one-on-one time with the students, especially now that my
own kids are grown up.”
“But seriously, when I think about the struggles that families like Tim's
face, it has so many implications for how we have to change our role as educators
in children's lives. A lot of parents have to struggle to get food on the table,
meet their rent payments, and take care of the basics like heat and light. More
and more kids are needing extra support from the school, because their parents
are so stressed out with work and finances.”
“You know, many of the kids want a lot more attention when they're here,
because they're not getting it anywhere else. The economic struggles of our
families demand more resources of the school—maybe some extra counseling
service, extra nursing service, extra work for the teachers. Teachers are spending
a lot more time counseling parents. I think they want to be helpful and supportive,
but a lot of them don't have the background to be the advocates, really, that
the parents need. So professional development becomes another resource we need
more of. But I think the nature of the work is shifting, and more and more we
have to do it, because more and more the social agencies are not picking up
that need. Besides the issue of limited resources, some people argue ‘it's
not your role.’ And my argument is, ‘Hey, we have the kid, we need
to help the kid.’”
“So we do some things that a more traditional school might not do, like
paying parents' medication bills on occasion, or feeding and putting clean clothes
on a kid. We've even talked about having washers and dryers for us to clean
some kids' clothes.”
“The question becomes ‘what is our role?’ We're being forced
to be much more of a social agency, but really, that's not what our role is
supposed to be. But you can't ignore a hungry child; you can't ignore the fact
that a child doesn't have clean or warm clothes or that the child's mother—or
the child—is abused at home, which makes it impossible for the child to
go to school and concentrate. So you end up doing a lot of things so that the
child can come ready to learn. And so it's like, ‘how do you do that?’”
Terri Kline, Tim's Teacher
“Ed, Maureen, and everyone at this school has tried to help Tim. I know
I've tried to do some things myself to help him with his hygiene and his eating
habits. There are a couple of kids that I have washcloths and towels for. When
they come in, obviously very dirty, I just give them the towels and they go
down and wash up and feel a whole lot better. I also buy snacks for my students,
to make sure they eat healthy food each day and to level the playing field among
all the children. I see the nonacademic help I give as just part of my job as
a teacher.”
“I think that if you're working with children, that's a part of the role.
If you're not involved in the child's whole life, then it doesn't make sense
to me. The child as a person is more important that just learning to read. Plus
his anger and his lack of attention at home end up getting in the way of his
learning. I certainly see that with his struggles concentrating on math and
staying on top of his homework. So I try to make up for all of that in class.”
“I also try to encourage Tim to take on some of the responsibility himself.
We've tried to give him some hints about washing up and getting himself ready
for school. He comes to school smelling of urine and wearing filthy clothes,
day after day. So I kind of started working with him and saying, ‘You know,
why don't you have a shower before you come to school in the morning, or hop
in the bath quickly? It would make you feel really clean and good.’ He
says, ‘OK.’”
“After Christmas vacation with his father, Tim's behavior got much worse.
At one point, Shellie tried to get a hold of her and have a conference about
all of her kids, her work situation, and the other stresses in her life and
have some honest dialogue about what's going on, but I don't think she was able
to reach her.”
“I personally don't feel comfortable pushing very hard with Maureen—leave
that to the guidance counselor. I'd much rather find solutions in the classroom.
Besides communication is limited on her end. During our few talks, I don't feel
like she's shared a lot with me as far as what's actually going on in Tim's
life. She's always private. And even though I've been flexible about scheduling
meetings, she still doesn't come to conferences and doesn't return phone calls,
so this is at an impasse right now.”
“And now Edward wants to meet with me to discuss the possibility of retaining
Tim, which means I really have to be clear about my assessment of Tim and his
family issues. And I have to come up with some ideas for how to move beyond
the communication impasse with Tim's mom to include her in this decision somehow.”
The people and events in this case are based on real life accounts, but
have been disguised to protect confidentiality. We would like to thank Kim Friedman
for conducting the interviews on which this case is based, for providing insight
into the case, and for reviewing the manuscript. This work was supported by
the MacArthur Foundation as part of its Network on Successful Pathways through
Middle Childhood, the DeWitt Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund as part of its School/Family
Partnerships Initiative, and Kraft Foods, an operating company of the Philip
Morris Companies.
The objectives of this case are to increase future educators' understanding
of children's family lives and their impact on school functioning, as well as
to consider the role of schools and teachers in supporting children's nonacademic
and family support needs. The case also presents home-school communication as
a critical ingredient in supporting children and families. The case is designed
for use in graduate-level education courses that consider family-school relationships
in the educational process.
Epilogue
Shellie Recalls
“After writing Maureen that letter, I really worried that she'd be
angry with me. But I felt like I had to write it because there were just things
that needed to be said. So, I didn't hear from her for a while. Then she really
surprised me by responding positively. She said, ‘I appreciate it, and
after thinking about it a lot, I took the letter to my boss, and I'm trying
to get things changed.’ She took that letter to her boss to try to get
her work shift changed. And it worked! Now she's working days. It'd be hard
to share a lot of those things with an employer, but she did do it, and now
she's working days. Not only that, but word from Terri is that Tim's shown a
lot of improvement behaviorally and attentionally, enough so that she's hoping
to promote him to the third grade afterall.”
^ Back to Top
Discussion Questions
- What assumptions do school staff make about Tim's home
life? About Tim's father? How can the school learn more
about Tim's family?
- What struggles does Maureen face in balancing her work
and family life? What strengths does she possess and what
strategies does she employ?
- How has Tim's home life affected his school functioning
and academic success?
- How and when should retention in the second grade be decided?
- Who holds responsibility for responding to Tim's unmet
needs?
- What kinds of supports do schools and teachers need to
respond to Tim's needs?
- Why did Shellie write the letter? What are the pros and
cons of writing it?
- What barriers exist to effective home-school communication?
- What else could the school do to overcome these barriers?
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