Student

 Background  Project:  Student  B    

 
Student  B  is  a  freshman  in  the  percussion  class  at  my  placement.  This  student  

participates  in  the  marching  band  as  well  as  playing  concert  percussion.  After  

observing  this  student  in  class  and  discussing  his  background  with  my  cooperating  

teacher,  I  am  able  to  understand  more  about  him.    

This  student  doesn’t  have  an  IEP  or  504,  however  I  have  noticed  in  class  that  this  

student  is  constantly  talking  with  his  friends,  not  paying  attention,  and  seems  really  

uninterested  in  class.  I  have  heard  this  student  say  on  multiple  occasions  that  they  

don’t  want  to  be  there  and  that  they  don’t  like  band.  In  class  this  student  is  

constantly  talking  with  his  friends.  However,  when  his  friends  aren’t  around  he’s  

more  focused  because  he  doesn’t  have  anyone  to  talk  to.    He  seems  to  get  frustrated  

easily,  especially  when  he  is  having  trouble  learning  some  of  the  music.    When  is  

called  on  to  play  his  part  he  gets  easily  frustrated  and  apologetic  when  he  messes  

up.  Overall,  this  student  tends  to  get  distracted  easily  and  has  a  hard  time  staying  on  

task.    

After  discussing  his  background  with  my  cooperating  teacher,  I  realized  that  

he  has  been  this  unengaged  for  a  while.  He  will  talk  through  class  whether  it’s  

myself,  or  my  cooperating  teacher  who  is  leading.  He  often  doesn’t  practice  for  class,  

and  will  come  into  class  unprepared.  This  set  off  the  whole  lesson  because  either  

myself,  or  my  cooperating  teacher  will  have  to  stop  to  help  this  student,  and  others,  

learn  their  part.    

There  are  several  ways  I  believe  we  can  accommodate  this  student  in  the  

classroom.  First  of  all,  I  think  for  part  of  the  class  we  can  make  sure  he  is  separate  
from  his  friends  that  make  him  talk  more.  He’ll  still  be  able  to  talk  when  we  take  a  

brake,  but  for  part/most  of  the  class  he  is  around  other  students  that  will  keep  him  

focused.  This  can  help  ensure  that  there  is  less  talking  from  him  and  throughout  the  

class  in  general.  Something  else  we  can  do,  is  pair  him  up  with  someone  from  the  

class  who  is  playing  the  same,  or  a  similar  part.  That  way  he  can  work  with  someone  

to  learn  the  music,  and  they  can  hold  each  other  accountable  for  learning  it.    

Overall,  I  think  with  some  of  these  tools  the  student  will  find  band  more  enjoyable.  

He  will  still  be  able  to  see  and  talk  to  his  friends,  but  he  will  be  more  focused  

throughout  class,  and  be  able  to  play  more.