Please read the article after reading it answer the questions from 1 to 5 and also cite some information from the book the Article called Toddler trouble.
Sharon, a child care center director, wonders how she can better meet the needs of 2-year-old Marcus, who is a hemophiliac. Marcus’s uncontrollable behavior endangers him and disrupts the class.
“Should I call his mother again?” the toddler teacher Glenda asked as 2-year-old Marcus struggled to free himself from her hold on his shoulders. Marcus tumbled on the floor by his nap time cot, falling over another toddler who had just gotten to sleep. “Yes, I think you should. Marcus really needs her today.”
Mrs. Jackson, Marcus’s mother, came over from her office a few minutes later. She set Marcus on her lap in our large rocking chair. She gently stroked his back as she quietly read him a story. Slowly Marcus relaxed his little body, and about 20 minutes later he was asleep. Mrs. Jackson carefully laid him on his cot and slipped out the door back to work.
Marcus has been attending our corporate child care center since September. I’m the director of this center, which cares for 120 children, and I’m worried about Marcus. Marcus is a hemophiliac so we worry a great deal about his health and safety needs. We have to keep him safe from the normal bumps and bruises of children’s lives.
But I’m also concerned about his behavior. Sometimes I shudder when I walk into the toddler room. He is often running around the room, pushing and shoving. He occasionally bites and hits the other children, and he screams at the top of his lungs whenever he is frustrated. Marcus seems to understand when we speak to him, but we usually can’t understand what he is saying. He is still in diapers and it’s a real challenge to get him to lie still long enough to change him.
I feel I should take some of the blame. I have been unable to keep a toddler teacher, thus disrupting the continuity in the classroom. I sometimes wonder if the stress of meeting Marcus’s needs and handling his behavior has been part of the reason for the high turnover. It’s now March, and Glenda the lead teacher is the fifth teacher since about September.
Last month I tried to talk to Mrs. Jackson about having Marcus tested by a psychologist to rule out behavioral or neurological problems. We don’t have the qualifications or training to make a diagnosis, but we have documented his behavior and feel he needs more evaluation. Mrs. Jackson responded that we were picking on Marcus because he’s Black.
I was stunned by this statement because we are pleased with the ethnic and racial diversity we have in the center. Of our 10 toddlers, two are Asian, two African American, one Hispanic, and five Caucasian. Granted, most of the staff and children are Caucasian, but there are other children of color at the school. One of the five teachers who cycled through the toddler room was in fact African American.
I realize how difficult it must be for Mrs. Jackson and her husband. She started a new job in September, and because she works here in the same building as the center, the brunt of the responsibility for Marcus falls on her. She is very worried, understandably, about separating from Marcus because of his hemophilia. We call her immediately for any bump or scrape. Being called whenever Marcus is upset or out of control puts an added strain on her at her job. She regularly comes at nap time, as she did today. Some days Marcus won’t calm down, so she takes him for a ride in her car until he falls asleep, then she brings him back to the center.
I feel we’re not doing a good job meeting Marcus’s needs or his mother’s. And we have the other children in the classroom to consider as well. As I look at Marcus peacefully sleeping, I can’t help thinking about the calm before the storm. What can we do to better meet Marcus’s special needs?
Discussion questions
1. How many suggestions can you make to Sharon about how she can better meet Marcus’s needs?
2. Do you think the school and Marcus’s parents are working well together? Why or why not? If not, what could be done to improve their relationship?
3. What considerations must the teachers make in protecting Marcus from physical harm?
4 .What role do you think the high rate of teacher turnover has in this case? Why?
5. What can we learn from Loris Malaguzzi, illuminated in the Reggio Emilia approach, that would help in this case?
