Student Teaching Seminar — On-line

Legal issues study questions

Here are the course units:

Please complete this activity to the best of your ability. Although you will not be turning the answers in, I expect that you will go through the process of answering the questions and reviewing your ideas via the Legal Issues Answers page - please don't go here until you've worked through the activity!

VII.  SELF-STUDY QUESTIONS

Instructions: On a separate sheet, answer the questions and decide whether there is a violation of law and what action, if any, the school district should take to remedy the violation.  Upon completion, compare your answers with the discussion guide on page 29.

1.   Mary is my 11 year old daughter.  She wants to participate in a field sports program in the fall, but there are no field sports available to her.  She doesn't want to participate in swimming or tennis.  There are boys' programs in field hockey and football, but the school told her she could not join the boys' field hockey team.

2.   My wife and I are from Mexico, and we speak Spanish in our home.  We have a twelve-year-old son, named Juan who speaks both English and Spanish.  Juan's teacher placed him in the basic reading group.  She told me that all children who speak Spanish at home are placed in this class because they need extra attention and reading help. 

3.   Jane is my twelve-year old daughter.  She has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair.  She is not permitted to go onto the playground with the other children because the teacher is concerned she might get hurt.  Jane and another boy who is also in a wheelchair eat lunch in the classroom because the teacher says it takes them too long to get to the student lunchroom.  In addition, she does not receive physical education because she is unable to run or participate in the other p.e. activities.

4.   Tan is a 14-year-old student of Vietnamese origin.  His parents have complained to the teacher that a group of Chinese students have been taunting him and have referred to him as "Vietnamese scum."  Tan says he is worried that the Chinese students may physically assault him when he leaves the school grounds.  The teacher is sympathetic but says the Chinese students have a right to express their opinions so long as they do not cause physical harm to Tan.  The teacher also states that there is nothing the school can do about what happens off the school property.

5.       Susan is a 16-year-old high school student.  She has complained to her counselor that in her computer lab some students have gained access to programs on the Internet that have a strong sexual theme.  Some of the students have downloaded pictures and cartoons and have passed them around the room. Other students have made off color jokes about these materials.  The teacher says these materials may be in bad taste but they do not amount to pornography.  Susan feels uncomfortable and wants to drop the class.

6.   Melinda is 15 years old.  She has enrolled in an automotive repair program.  Her teacher has discouraged her from taking the class.  He says that almost all mechanics are men and she would not be comfortable working in an auto repair setting.  The teacher seldom talks to Melinda unless Melinda specifically asks him a question.  He shows more interest in the projects of the boys in the class. 

7.   Jane is ten years old.  Her social studies textbook has no pictures or discussions of African-Americans except as slaves, manual laborers or domestic workers.  Persons of other races are presented in various contexts.

8.   Eva Jones is an African-American college student who has begun her student teaching program with a third grade class.  During the first week, Eva was permitted to teach most of the class.  After that, the cooperating teacher asked Eva just to grade papers and observe the class.  She told Eva that the children could not understand Eva because of her "Black accent."  She believes the children will learn bad speech patterns from Eva.  Eva asked the children if they understood her.  They told Eva they could understand, and they seemed to do well on a test Eva gave to cover her lesson.