This case is about a fifth-grade boy named Jerry.

Jerry is larger than the other kids and

not very coordinated, but he is an above-average student. Jerry is in Chris’s fifth-grade class, and

he often comes crying to Chris to tell her that the other students are being mean to him. The other

students do not like that Jerry goes to tattle about them to Chris, but Chris has a hard time

believing that Jerry starts the altercations because he is “such a nice boy”.

There are many issues that I see with this case. To start, there seems to be a bias towards

supporting Jerry, and not the other students. The case makes it seem like the issue with Jerry has

been going on for a while, but that there was not anything done about it. The fact that Chris has

not seen Jerry start any altercations, but she has heard the other students say mean things to him,

is interesting. If I were their teacher I would have stayed close to Jerry to see if I could

understand why his other classmates are not accepting of him, or why he is losing friends that he

once had. The teacher’s response to Jerry seems to be affecting how he responds. Since Chris is

allowing him to come and tattle everyday, Jerry thinks that it is okay to do. Scott tries to tell

Chris about Jerry threatening him, and she is not sure if she believes him. If you do not deal with

a situation, then it is going to continue and possibly escalate, just like it has in this case. Chris

needs to be able to check her biases, and not just assume that Jerry is telling the truth because “he

is a nice boy”.

I do not think that either boy deserves to have severe consequences. To start I think that a

sit down conversation with both of them would be helpful. Instead of a consequence for Jerry, I

believe that counseling would be beneficial. It is important to provide help to these students

instead of just punishing them, as there is clearly a larger issue that needs to be resolved. The fact

that Jerry threatened the life of Scott is not okay, but punishing him may cause him to have these
feelings in a bigger way and it could become more detrimental. Instead, he needs to immediately

go to the principal and a school counselor to come up with a safe plan of action.

The idea that all children have to play together is a double-sided sword. While I do

believe that it is important for children to learn how to work with others, even when they may

not get along, I also understand the importance of being able to make personal choices. In this

particular case, I do not think that Chris forcing the kids to play together is going to solve the

problem. If Chris was to force the children to play together then she should be present and

nearby to solve any issues. However, I do not think that it is a good idea. If Jerry is already

having feelings of injuring others, then that is only going to get worse. Forcing them to play

together is going to cause the other students to feel as though their feelings are not valid and

being heard.

I will handle tattling by setting ground rules for my students on day one. I will tell them

that tattling is always allowed if someone is in danger, but if you are tattling just to get someone

in trouble then that is not okay. I love the quote from Dr. Reinard, “Are you telling me this

because you want to get someone in trouble or are you telling me this because you are keeping

someone out of trouble?”. I also plan on setting up a “Tattle Box” or suggestion box in my

classroom. This provides a way for students to get out any emotion they are feeling, while

keeping the classroom safe and leaving tattling to the teacher for emergencies. It is important that

students feel like their concerns are being heard, but it is also important that they know when is

an appropriate time to tattle. In addition, I will take it upon myself to listen and see as much as I

can all day throughout the classroom during the day.