Should Susan give up on Mrs. Taylor
Reply to Response #4 I don’t think that Susan should give up on Mrs. Taylor. She has to convince her that Carl needs all the help he can get otherwise his behavior disorder might turn into something more destructive. He should be allowed to overcome his problem without the help of any prescription drugs. Mrs. Taylor and everybody in the faculty of the school should therefore exercise “maximum tolerance” in dealing with Carl.
Susan’s intervention plan would only work with the full cooperation of everybody else: Mrs. Taylor, Carl’s parents, Susan herself, and the other faculty members of the school. Reply to Response #5 You are absolutely right and I agree with you. Susan has definitely come up with the best plan given the available resources. I also believe that completely removing Carl from Mrs. Taylor’s class would do more harm than good. Carl is already feeling insecure after the divorce of his parents and subjecting him to such a humiliating experience might result to more violent reaction from the boy. The IEP meeting with the parents was also a great help for Susan.
It gave her a first hand knowledge of Carl’s predicament and could help her reach out to him. However, before Susan enlists the help of the shared psychologist, I think it would be better for her to arrange a one-on-one meeting with Carl after class first. If she could befriend Carl and gain his confidence by showing him that she is someone he could trust, Susan would be off to a good start. A psychologist, on the other hand, might have a negative reaction from Carl. Reply to Response #6 You’re probably right. I also think Carl’s mother wants to wash her hands of the entire problem.
She definitely showed that she did not care whether Carl is disciplined or not when she uttered the words “Do whatever you have to do. Give me the papers to sign, I have to get back to work. ” However, before I decide to transfer Carl to another class, I think it would be better if Mrs. Taylor should first be convinced to do more for Carl. A little more patience is what Carl needs. A little more sympathy would be even better. Moving Carl to another class might prove embarrassing for him and elicit an even more violent reaction.
