Nicole Reyes Reyes1
Professor Peggy Ingram
EDUU 512
12 March 2013

Teaching Case Assignment: “The Case of Cassie Brown”

The assigned teaching case is based on a female, African American high school student by the name of Cassie Brown. Cassie is a senior at Jefferson High School right before the turning of the new millennium. The story takes place not far from a very poor inner city. Cassie has found that after many years of wanting to become a mathematics teacher, she is now questioning her dream. The reason Cassie has become uncertain of her goal is from an encounter she had with her mathematics teacher, Mr. Tempe. Cassie was unable to understand how to solve a calculus problem which Mr. Tempe tried twice to explain to her. After the second attempt, he informed her that she might want to reconsider becoming a math teacher: “There are not many minorities in this field and you are also female and African American” (Taylor and Whittaker, 210). There are several issues arising from this case, primarily the perception that the people in the case impose upon the female, African American minority. This perception is that black women are not equal in capability and intelligence and therefore unlikely to be successful in the fields of mathematics and science. Cassie made reference to the fact that she was among only 5 other African American girls in her class, accounting for just one
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third of the students. This leads to the issue of the under representation of the female, African American population. In this case their interests are often ignored and resources underutilized. Lastly, there is the issue of Cassie’s emotional state as a direct product of the action of her teacher. Many might suggest that Mr. Tempe has an obligation to be responsible for the academic achievement of his students. It is evident from the explanation above that Cassie has become very disturbed by the fact that Mr. Tempe has asked her to reconsider everything she has worked so hard to achieve. From her standpoint, he has failed in his duty to motivate and encourage her towards her goals. Cassie believes Mr. Tempe owes her an apology for his behavior and deeply wants him to understand how his words have affected her. From Mr. Tempe’s perspective however, his behavior might have been the attempt to protect Cassie from failure. His understanding of the challenges that Cassie might be faced with could have provided a motive for his actions. In order to resolve the issues between herself and Mr. Tempe, Cassie first went to meet with her school counselor. While speaking with Cassie, the school counselor tried to remain very diplomatic in her response, suggesting to Cassie that Mr. Tempe’s actions could have been made with her best interest in mind. The school counselor suggested setting up a meeting between Cassie, herself, and Mr. Tempe. The purpose of this meeting would be to hear Mr. Tempe’s side of the story and to clear up any misunderstandings that might have occurred. This is the necessary first step in resolving any type of issue, this is not however a solution to the case. Suggestions should have been made to Cassie in order to assure that a resolution would take place.
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The TPE’s which this case address are TPE 1: “Specific pedagogical skills for subject matter instruction.” This TPE fits the case because it suggests that Mr. Tempe has the responsibility to help Cassie understand how to solve the calculus problem that she has been struggling with. This brings to focus TPE2: “Monitoring student learning during instruction.” Cassie made reference to the fact that up until this point, she has never had any issues in her math classes. In fact she was in the “top track” both in middle and high school. Based on TPE2, Mr. Tempe’s assessment of Cassie’s understanding of the subject matter was not concurrent with her abilities as a student. This case also addresses TPE 6: “Developmentally appropriate teaching practices.” In this particular instance, Mr. Tempe has an obligation to support Cassie in her studies. Also falling under this expectation is understanding students and their differences. Cassie’s needs being that she is a female, African American student are not going to be the same as the white, male students in her class. Mr. Temp has the obligation to attend to the needs of all of his students, regardless of their race or gender. Additional solutions include the school counselor and administrators working together to bring awareness to the misrepresentation of this group of students. This can be achieved through developmental meetings geared towards changing the perception of African American women in the workforce. Different activities can alter point of view in regards to a specific group of people. Also, the district can begin to train their teachers on how to teach diverse students. The case study described Mr. Tempe as being a very traditional and strict teacher. With the changing millennium, teachers are faced with a very dynamic group of students from many different backgrounds and cultures. Training Reyes4 should be implemented in order to help the teachers differentiate their instruction. Counselors and teachers can help equip students with the tools necessary to overcome adversity. In this case, they can advise Cassie to attend a seminar aimed towards empowering minority women against misconceptions. Also, they can encourage her to join the math club designed to unite different students with a common interest. Lastly, Cassie’s counselor can advise her to seek out professionals who match her ethnic and gender background. This connection could provide a great deal of motivation to Cassie and help her overcome her discouragement. The advantage to each of the solutions above is the enrichment process from both the standpoint of the student and the teacher. These types of experiences help us to become more sensitive towards one another and accepting of our differences. We can continue to learn and grow as individuals as well as part of a team. Just as there are advantages however, there are also limitations. These solutions are limited by the amount of effort each person is willing to contribute. Many suggestions can be made to help resolve certain conflicts, but of those suggestions a conscience effort must be made to follow through.

Works Cited:
Taylor S. & Whittaker R. (2009). Bridging Multiple Worlds: Case Studies of Diverse Educational Communities. Boston: Pearson.