Malik

Malik is a Pakastani-born, male student in the third grade at the Sidwell Friends
School in Washington, DC.
Family Background:








Malik is 8 years old.
His first language is Punjabi, but he speaks English fluently because he has lived
in the United States for 5 years.
Malik is the eldest of two children. He has one younger brother who is not yet in
school.
Malik’s parents have been happily married for 12 years. They are both lawyers
and work in separate private law firms that are highly influential to government
affairs.
o They both work late hours and are unable to pick Malik up after school.
His father brings him to school each morning, though. Malik’s father
prides himself on this special time wit his son each morning.
Malik is often at home with his nanny and brother. His parents work late hours.
They are usually home in time for dinner, though late nights are not unusual.
Malik’s nanny cares for the children and helps them with their homework as
much as she can. She only completed school through the eighth grade.
Therefore, she is able to help Malik in many subjects, though math does not come
easily to her.
Because Malik’s nanny is a soft-spoken woman, she has little control over
Malik’s outbursts, tantrums and refusal to follow directions at home.
Malik has access to computers and technology gadgets at home. In fact, he even
has his own computer! He will often spend hours at a time playing the newest
video games. Though his parent encourage him to play outside, they are not often
home before bedtime.
School Background:
Sidwell Friends
 www.sidwell.edu
 Sidwell Friends is a private school that was religiously founded by the Quakers, a
religion of peace.
o Students at Sidwell are not required to be of the Quaker religion. In fact,
most students are of the Christian, Jewish or Muslim faith.
 Many wealthy, politically influential people who have sent their children there.
Students include children of present and past presidents of the United States,
foreign dignitaries, White House personnel and others.


Lower school tuition is approximately $30,000 per year, per student. Middle and
Upper School tuition is approximately $31,000 per year, per student. This is
exclusive of required fees.
The school is noted for their technology program, and encourages the use of
technology amongst its students.
Educational Background:







Malik is the oldest child in his class. He was held back in kindergarten due to a
lack of emotional readiness.
He is academically at the top of his class in math and science. Creating lessons
that challenge him while not “leaving behind” other students is difficult for his
teacher.
Malik’s reading is at the average third grade level. He often becomes frustrated
while reading because his attention span does not last long. He has been
diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD), but he is being treated by his
doctor.
Malik has difficulty with small motor skills tasks, including writing. He becomes
easily frustrated with writing and will often purposefully ruin assignments he
completed out of frustration and anger.
o Dictation is one method that his parents and teachers have discussed to
make outputting his thoughts easier and more tolerable.
Malik loves to talk and is very social. His interpersonal communication skills are
not strong, though. He finds it hard to focus on and listen to others while they
speak.
He has an aptitude for remembering information and trivia. He will “wow” you
with his background knowledge of a variety of topics and even correct you if
you’re wrong.
He loves the arts. He enjoys drawing, though due to his difficulty with fine motor
skills, his drawings are remedial. Art and music are relaxing to Malik; they are
used by his teachers to help him express himself freely.