RUNNING HEAD: PEPSI SCREENING

Jamie Lohmeyer

EDU 220

Dr. Rochelle Hooks

Pepsi Screening

College of Southern Nevada

10/22/2019
 2
PEPSI SCREENING

Biography

Name: Davonte Hill

Gender: Male

Ethnicity: African American

Age: 8

Grade: 2

Socioeconomic Status: Lower Socioeconomic Status

I observed Davonte Hill for this screening. Davonte is an eight-year old boy who

is in the second grade. Davonte moved from his home with his mother in Florida to his

fathers’ home in Las Vegas in July of 2019. Until this time, he had never met his father.

This move has uprooted Davonte’s whole life he has been forced away from everything

and everyone he has ever known.

Davonte’s household consists of his father, stepmother and three stepsiblings.

Their family is in the lower socioeconomic class and the kids pretty much fend for

themselves. There is no active parent involvement and the thirteen-year-old stepsister is

the primary care giver.

 3
PEPSI SCREENING

Physical Development

Davonte is 44 pounds, which is slightly lower than an average eight-year-old boy.

With the average weight of an eight-year-old boy being fifty-six pounds according to

(www.livestrong.com The Average Height and Weight by Age, 2019). Due to Davonte’s

meals only being eaten at school this could contribute to his lower weight class.

Davonte does not go out and play with his friends and typically stays inside with

his three older stepsiblings. According to (mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/expert-

answers/kids-and-exercise/faq-20058336) “Guidelines from the Department of Health

and Human Services say that children and adolescents age 6 and older need at least an

hour a day of physical activity. Most of the hour should be either moderate or vigorous

aerobic activity. Vigorous activity should be included at least three days a week. Children

should also participate in muscle-strengthening and bone-strengthening activities at least

three days a week.” The fact that Davonte has a sedentary lifestyle is a contributing factor

to his underweight status.

The average height for an eight-year-old boy is fifty inches according to

(www.disabled-world.com Average Height to Weight Chart - Babies to Teenagers 2017).

Davonte is 47 inches tall which is smaller than average for a boy his age. Another

contributing factor to Davonte’s small size is he shows no interest in playing any sports

or games with other children his age.

 4
PEPSI SCREENING

Emotional Development

As I observed Davonte, I noted that he does not play with other children. Even

when given the opportunity to join a game of football he isolated himself. As his aide I

also noticed his frequent outbursts and need for constant praise and approval. According

to the definitions set by IDEA for an emotionally disturbed person IDEA defines

emotional disturbance as follows: “…a condition exhibiting one or more of the following

characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a

child’s educational performance.”

(A) An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health

factors.

(B) An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers

and teachers.

(C) Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances.

(D) A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.

(E) A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school

problems.”

Davonte just moved from Florida to Las Vegas to live with his father. In chapter 5 of

our textbook it states that “Make an effort to understand students’ behavior by trying to

understand the personalities and after-school lives of students” (Corbett & Wilson, 2002).

There are only two members of the staff that he is willing interacts with me and one of

our special education teachers. We learned in the text that “personal experiences with
 5
PEPSI SCREENING

racial discrimination (or even the suspicion that one has been discriminated against) have

been linked to decreased perceptions of mastery, mistrust of teachers and school rules,

and negative attitudes towards school “(Graham and Hudley,2005;Taylor and

Graham,2007).
 6
PEPSI SCREENING

Philosophical Development

Davonte is growing up in a household where there is no religion or faith being

taught. Therefore, a lot of Davonte’s perception of life is based solely on his own

personal experiences. Davonte has not been taught right from wrong and has learned that

when he does something wrong, he will be yelled at and spanked.

According to Psychology Today “Children don't learn right from wrong by

being punished, any more than they learn red from blue by being punished. Kids learn

when we show them red, and when we show them kindness, responsibility, generosity,

honesty, compassion, and all the other things we want them to learn, in action, every

day.” (How Do Children Learn Right from Wrong? 2017)

According to Lawrence Kohlberg, Davonte should be in stage 2 of the levels

of moral judgement. “At stage 2 (from age 5 to age 7, or up to age 9, in some cases),

children learn that it is in their interest to behave well, because rewards are in store if they

do.” Davonte is not in this stage yet; he continues to believe that he can do whatever he

wants with no repercussions.

Davonte does not show remorse or impulse control. As we learned in chapter 3

of the text “Disruptive family relationships, social rejection, and school failure may lead

to delinquent behavior,” (Gerald Patterson, Barbara DeBaryshe, and Elizabeth Ramsey

1989). Davonte’s disruptive lifestyle is causing him to act out.

 7
PEPSI SCREENING

Social Development

Inside or outside of school Davonte does not participate in any social activities

with his peers. Davonte has very little social interactions outside of his stepsiblings. His

interactions with both adults and other children are defensive and awkward. Davonte is

shy and introverted in his interactions with all people. He tends to shy away from social

situations and has distrust towards most adults.

According to chapter 2 of the text “If students genuinely feel that nobody cares,

then a caring relationship does not exist.” (Nodding’s 1984). Davonte feels that no adults

care about him, so he sees authority figures as someone to fear. When being approached

by adults he takes a defensive role to protect himself.

Davonte has learned self-reliance as he has nobody to depend on but himself.

According to (Barrera M., Li S.A. (1996)) “In some cases, adolescents might adopt

strategies for the development of autonomy that include less reliance on the support of

family members and greater self-reliance or reliance on peers.”

Chapter 2 of the text states that if children are in less controlling environments,

they are less likely to lie to authority figures. Davonte will lie about anything to get

himself out of trouble he has adapted to the fact that this is an area of his life that he has

control over. (Jensen, Arnett, Feldman, & Cauffman, 2004).

 8
PEPSI SCREENING

Intellectual Development

Davonte is a very bright young man; however, he will not participate in class and

will repeatedly ask to use the restroom to get out of any task he does not want to do.

Piaget and Inhelder (1969), describe intellectual development as: “a series of stages

through which children make qualitative changes as they acquire new knowledge.”

Davonte is behind other 2nd graders in his Cognitive Milestones. According to

Developmental Milestones for Second and Third Graders (Morin) a typical 2nd grader can

“Can sit and pay attention to something that interests them for at least 30–45 minutes and

Use those connections to do more complex math like multiplication and division.”

Davonte can not sit still for more than five minutes at any given time. He can do simple

addition and subtraction without regrouping but cannot sit still long enough to understand

the concept of regrouping.

At home there is nobody who is willing to take the time to help Davonte with

homework. So, Davonte continues to struggle with skills that he should have mastered.

According to What Every 2nd Grade Teacher Needs to Know About Setting Up and

Running a Classroom (Wilson 2010) second graders often exhibit the following cognitive

behaviors. “Often in a hurry and excited to learn, but not too concerned about creating a

perfect product, enjoy socializing and working in groups, and Are increasingly interested

in logic, classification, and how things work. Davonte does not show any interest any of

those cognitive skills. Placing him at a lower level cognitively than other second graders.
 9
PEPSI SCREENING

Graph

Physical Emotional Philosophical Social Intellectual

Development Development Development Development Development
 10
PEPSI SCREENING

Recommendations

For Davonte’s physical development I am recommending he be placed on our

food bags list. This will give him the necessary nutrition he needs on the weekends as

well as snacks for during the school week.

In Davonte’s emotional development I recommend that the staff try to be more

understanding of his situation, I also have spoken with our school counselor and have

asked for him to meet with Davonte as regularly as possible to assist with his emotional

wellbeing. During my observations of him and his father I found Davonte to show fear

while his father talked at him. I have also explained this to our counselor for assistance.

For Davonte’s philosophical development I have asked that he be reviewed to be

put on a Behavioral Intervention Plan. With Davonte having a clear and concise

understanding of the consequences for his behaviors I believe he will strive to make

better choices.

Davonte’s social development needs some assistance I have recommended that he

is worked with in small group settings to aid in his abilities to learn socialization skills.

Davonte is not currently a special education student however, after my

observations I have recommended starting the RTI process.

 11
PEPSI SCREENING

References

Disabled World. (2019, August 22). Average Height to Weight Chart - Babies to
Teenagers. Retrieved from https://www.disabled-world.com/calculators-charts/height-weight-
teens.php.
Edward R. Laskowski, M. D. (2019, May 17). How much exercise do your kids need?
Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/expert-answers/kids-and-
exercise/faq-20058336.
The Average Height and Weight by Age. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.livestrong.com/article/328220-the-average-height-and-weight-by-age/.
caring in education - uvm.edu. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.uvm.edu/~rgriffin/NoddingsCaring.pdf.
How Do Children Learn Right from Wrong? (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/peaceful-parents-happy-kids/201703/how-do-
children-learn-right-wrong.
Piaget, J., Kagan, J., & Inhelder Bärbel. (2000). The psychology of the child. New York:
Basic Books.
Pierce, G. R., Sarason, B. R., & Sarason, I. G. (1996). Handbook of social support and
the family. New York: Plenum Press.
Wilson, M. B. (2010). What every 2nd grade teacher needs to know about setting up and
running a classroom. Turners Falls, MA: Northeast Foundation for Children.
Snowman, Jack and McCown, Rick (2015).
Psychology Applied to Teaching (14th ed.).