Case Study Analysis Assignment Instructions
Educators work with families from diverse backgrounds. In order to develop an in-depth appreciation for the differences among the families of our students, it is important to consider how we might respond to real-life situations. Case studies provide opportunities to analyze and address difficult situations outside of the classroom in order to prepare educators for the realities and challenges of teaching.
For this assignment, you will review an assigned case study and write a 400-500-word essay in current APA format that contains three sections, which address the following components:
- Identify the key issue or issues in the case study.
- Recommend a plan for developing and/or maintaining a positive working relationship with the parent featured in the case study, and supporting the child of that parent, who is a student in your class or school.
- Provide a rationale for the plan you have chosen.
You must include at least one citation from your textbook and at least one citation from another scholarly resource in this assignment. Resources should be listed on the reference page in current APA format.
Use this case study for this assignment:
Neighborhood Watch Practices Case Study
It is the last day of school before a two week winter break. You notice that one of your students has been distracted and despondent all day. You call the student’s mother to express your concern, and she tells you the following:
I woke up at 5 this morning to the sound of a motor droning outside my bedroom window and flashing red and white lights reflecting along the wall. I got up and looked out the window and saw a fire truck, an ambulance, and four police cars parked across the street blocking the entrance to the alley. I threw my bathrobe on over my nightgown and went down the stairs . … I stepped out into the morning. It was still dark . .. and . .. chilly. Across the street, two newsmen talked in low tones as they pulled their cameras out of their vans. “What happened?” I asked. ”There’s a dead man in the alley, ma’am,” the younger one replied. I was stunned, even though I had guessed already that there’d been a murder. A crowd began to gather, oblivious, it seemed, to the cold air, the early morning blackness and the drizzling rain, as they stared down the alley past the yellow ribbon to the bloody body that lay several feet ahead. “I need to see his face,” I muttered to no one in particular. I was desperate to see if he was someone I knew, perhaps one of the kids for whom my home had been a haven when my children were growing up. I eased my way to the outskirts of the crowd and stood like a statue until I was sure no one was watching me . … I took a deep breath and walked slowly toward the body, constantly looking over my shoulder, hoping to get close enough to get a good look at him before they pulled the sheet up over his face. A deep sadness came over me as I looked at the still figure of a young black man. He couldn’t have been more than 19, maybe 20 years old. He was lying face up. His L.A. Raiders cap, soaked in blood, lay inches away from his head. The stiff, dark fingers on his right hand were frozen around a McDonald’s paper cup as though he’d been struggling to hold onto it, and cold coffee spilled over his hand and onto the concrete. “Oh, Jesus,” I moaned. And I began to weep. I wept for that boy’s poor mother and for the mothers of the children who have died in wars they didn’t plan. I guess I just mourned for all the mothers in this country, the only place in the world where young black men get blown away every day over a pair of sneakers, the wrong colors, or a cup of cold coffee. I stood watch over the body until the coroner finally pronounced him dead and took him to the County Morgue. Then I went home and filled a pail with water and got myself some rags. I went back out into the alley, got down on my hands and knees and I scrubbed and scrubbed until all the blood that the rain hadn’t washed away was gone (Tutwiler, 2017, p.64).
– Case 4C: Neighborhood Watch. This case study was extracted from the course textbook, Teachers as Collaborative Partners.
