My case study revolves around Martin Ramirez and his brother,
Angel, two students at a private school in
Martin
was born in
Martin lives in the neighborhood
east of
I met with Mrs. Ramirez prior to my
first meeting with the boys. Though we
have difficulty communicating with the language barrier, she tried hard to
speak English and wants her boys to do well.
I have since spoken to her after our sessions and she is always very
proud of her boys when I report how well they are doing. She picks both boys up daily from school, and
waits for them outside in the truck while they are with me. I would like to invite her in and find an
activity to include her sometime.
Martin admires his father greatly. Both he and Angel speak of their Dad as if he is Superman, Spiderman, and the Hulk all rolled into one. It is refreshing to see a family who values each other the way the Ramirez family does. His father speaks both English and Spanish.
Martin, like most seven-year-old boys likes to play outdoors. He enjoys building a fort at recess and playing with other boys. He sits by a girl at school, and gets along well with her, but may be a little embarrassed to let the guys see him enjoying a girl’s company. He is a quiet sort who seems intent upon watching and listening, but when he has something to say, it is meaningful and important. This does not prevent him from enjoying his peers, though. He has a giant smile while interacting with them. The biggest smile of all seems to be saved for times spent with Angel, his big brother. He openly admires Angel, and they seem to get along very well. I have never seen anything but kind and gentle behavior from either boy when interacting with each other -no competitiveness, bickering, or other forms of sibling rivalry.
Martin is a very good student who enjoys Spiderman, Harry Potter, and basketball. According to his teacher, student teacher, and principal, he does very well in school. He is extremely obedient and quiet. Martin is very self-motivated and wants to do well in school. His dedication is apparent. When given a choice to do an activity or homework, he always chooses to do his homework first and is diligent in completing it. He is very deliberate and methodical while doing his work. He is extremely detail oriented and wants his work to be his very best. He claims his weakest subject is spelling, because, he says, he “missed a word a few weeks ago”. He enjoys reading math, and religion. He has exemplary manners and study skills, and really understands the game of school. He is reading above grade level, and has an easy time in math. He takes his time when doing his school work and pays great attention to detail. His English skills are very good, and any inconsistencies I have noticed seem to be due to accent differences. He follows directions extremely well.
Initially, I spoke to Mrs. Lincoln, the principal. She chose the Ramirez brothers for me as I
requested an ESL family to use as subjects for my case study. They’re one of only two ESL families in the
school. Mrs. Lincoln was acquainted with
Mrs. Ramirez and said she is a very good mother and very conscientious as a
parent, but she didn’t appear to know either boy personally, however, she is a
new principal and this conversation took place in the first weeks of
school. I spoke to her again after my
first meeting with the boys. She
recommended I ban Angel from answering for Martin for a ten-minute period each
week to begin to let Martin speak for himself.
Angel first began classes at this school in the second grade as a
monolingual Spanish speaker. The
following year, Martin began school as a kindergartener, but appeared to speak
English. He says his brother taught
him. Like many Spanish speakers, though,
I have noticed that if he has a problem with the academic language or specific
vocabulary in a book, he does not want to admit it, so he remains quiet
Martin is in Mrs. Bell’s second grade classroom. I am tutoring both brothers in language arts,
as they are ESL students. He says his
favorite subject is reading, but he like math, too. He says his least favorite subject is
spelling, but he does well in this subject as well. In fact, he has only missed one word in the
weeks I have asked him about his progress.
In my work with Martin, he is very serious and dedicated, and appears to
be above grade level. The only issue I
have noticed, other than age appropriate misspellings, is that he sometimes
says and writes beginning consonants incorrectly, which I believe is due to
accent differences between Spanish and English.
I find that his classroom is a very traditional classroom, with
sixteen students. Seven are boys and
nine are girls. They sit in rows with
two students, then an aisle, then two more students. The pairs are boy-girl, except for one with
two girls. All of the class work I have
seen was in the form of worksheets. This
environment seems to be influential in molding Martin’s behavior.
Martin is an excellent student, who works hard and dedicates himself to his schoolwork. He has great natural ability and learns quickly. He remembers what he learns and review is seldom necessary for him. Martin is very serious and obedient. He is very pleasing in that he waits for a clue as to what he thinks I want to hear before answering. Each week, he chooses to do all of his homework before starting the fun activity I have prepared. If Angel is present, he usually answers for Martin, and Martin typically follows Angel’s lead. While Martin appears to be successful and well adjusted, I would like to see him develop more independence and confidence in himself. I would also like to see him relax and enjoy himself like most children his age do. I would also like to see him take some risks and find what he has a passion for. It would be great if he felt comfortable asking for help if he needs it.
He is an amazing student and a great child who is truly a pleasure to be around. He and Angel both display great values and are well on their way to being exceptional members of society.
Reflection
I have found Martin to be a very quiet boy, whom I must work to
draw out. He really wants to please, and
often will seem to be trying to figure out what answer he thinks I want before
answering. I find that he tries so hard
to be perfect, that he sacrificing creativity and his sense of self. If there was one need I see in Martin, it is
to let go and have fun with school; to be himself. He could benefit from encouragement and
confidence in expressing himself. I also
think he may need assistance in learning how to release his own
creativity. He is a very intelligent
boy, and has a spark in his eyes that tells me that a great sense of humor and
interesting thoughts are just waiting for a chance be seen. Martin pushes himself past his limits
sometimes and is tenacious in completing any task he takes on. For several weeks, he read every day from
Harry Potter books, even though the book was well beyond his reading
level. He was determined to read the
book, regardless of the enjoyment he received (or didn’t receive) from it. In observing this I have learned to read
aloud with a child and ask them questions to make sure they are comprehending
what they are reading, because will alone is not adequate to determine if a
book is appropriate.
On a personal level, I feel that I have really benefited from
knowing the Ramirez brothers because I have had the opportunity to expand my
teaching skills to work with a quiet child.
Observation and the right questions were helpful in understanding what
he needs. I have learned to be quiet for
long periods of time, and to wait for the student to develop his own plan and
ideas. I have learned not to transmit
what I am thinking, in order to let them discover their own way. I also feel that I have seen a great role
model for how I would like my own children to treat one another.