Trying to Meet the Needs for All Learners

I have learned a lot over the past couple months. There have been many ups and downs. I'm still adjusting to managing so many students at one time, but there are a couple kids that stand out. One student in particular, let's call him E, has been on my mind a lot lately. He is very talkative and has trouble focusing. E is retaking this class, so it is important that he passes. He is a very talented baseball player, so I have been getting some support from the baseball coach. We are trying to encourage E to stay on task and and complete his work. The coach has been taking away his phone and giving him a pep talk every day before my class. I have sat E in a seat in the front of the classroom. My goal is that by sitting him in the front next to people who will not talk to him, he will not get distracted as easily. It has been working alright. We have a few successes here and there, but he still fights me sometimes.

The class with E is just difficult in general. I have a couple students with IEPs in that class. One of them has a specific learning disability, who we will call S. S is a sweet student, but he has trouble staying on task. He has barely turned in any of his work and I have had to call home a couple times in regards to disruptions. Lately, I feel like I am flying by the seat of my pants when planning lessons, so it can be difficult to for me to differentiate for so many unique learners.

However, I am getting better at building relationships. E might not like me very much right now, but I know he is the talkative, popular type. It helps so much to just come over and have a 5 minute conversation with him at the beginning of class or during the time that everyone is coming back from lunch. For S, I have placed him in the front of the classroom so I can check-in with him frequently. For example, yesterday I stopped by his desk to answer any questions he had and he actually told me that "This is easier than (he) thought!" He also told me that he understands Xs better than parentheses when multiplying, so I am trying to get out of my parentheses habit for him.

All of my kids are so sweet, even the "problem" ones. I just need to take the time to build relationships with them. At this point, I feel like I know my students pretty well. Some students just need more one-on-one time with me. As I move forward, I need to be more purposeful and deliberate with my differentiation. It has been a struggle for me. Especially because I was the student that always did well in a traditional classroom environment. However, these kids deserve for me to try my hardest to tailor my teaching to them. I need to do all that I can to make sure that they have the best learning experience possible.