Challenges in the classroom

Vignette

It is Monday morning. In fourth grade, thirty pupils are sitting in pairs. Lucas, one of the learners, is sitting at the front of the class. He sits alone with his materials because he doesn’t want to share his desk with any of the other students. He has been diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD), which makes it extremely difficult for him to engage in close relationships with his peers. Even when his partners are eager to interact with him, Lucas is reluctant to establish any type of relationship or interaction with them. It is the very first English lesson of the year and children meet the new teacher. The English class takes place during the first period, from 8 to 9 o’clock in the morning. While the teacher tries to involve students in introducing themselves and playing a game, Lucas shows himself anxious and lost in his thoughts. He doesn’t want to participate in the activity, in fact, his interactions with the teacher are reduced to shouts and jokes. He doesn’t have enough space and feels restless. As soon as Lucas realizes that one of the students has got the teacher’s attention, he runs out of the classroom. When the teacher makes the child come back to the classroom, she has to deliver the rest of the lesson with her back stuck to the classroom’s door in order to prevent Lucas from running out of the classroom again. The teacher does not have any resources to cope with the situation. The headmasters and the course teacher are helpful, but they cannot be in charge of the students every minute. To make it worse, this student does not have a special education teacher to accompany him as the family refuses to set one, even though social insurance includes this service.