For my work sample I am working on teaching my students to find items in a grocery circular and then total the items. It is the IEP goal for two of my students. Boring. Who does that in real life? Sorry if you do that. No offense.
One of the issues for these students is teaching generalizing skills. Sure, they can add the items in the classroom looking at a fake grocery advertisement. But could they go into a store and find those items and total them? Well I decided to find out.
Unfortunately my teaching style is very impulsive. I needed my students to go to the store to buy items for a cooking project. So I thought I would kill two birds with one stone by giving my students a list of grocery items and we could do our lesson for my work sample at the store.
I had a general idea of what I would need to do with these students. They had been to this store before and I had an idea of how I would manage four students and an I.A. at the store. What I had not planned on was that my University Supervisor decided to do a surprise visit to observe my lesson. Awesome. Well, not so much.
In all fairness I don't think I could have planned it better the first time. There were so many variables I just could not account for. But overall I thought it went well. My students did well. They understood the concept. We had so much fun I decided to do it again the next day.
The second time it went much better. I printed out specific worksheets with visual aids for some of my students. This worked much better. Live and learn, right? I knew they enjoyed it the first time because they voted to go to Bi-Mart for math on a day where it was pouring down rain and windy knowing we would have to walk in it to go to the store. But it was fun for all of us.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Balancing Act
I really thought I was going to cry this week. In fact, I told my male mentor teacher. I am sure that was awkward for him. But it is true. My whole world has become special education. I go to my placement and then come home and have to do prep work for the next day.
I miss having a life. And now when I get around people the only thing I know to talk about is special education. I feel so out of touch with the rest of the world. And I am pretty sure I am picking up some autistic tendencies. Great.....
I had been having a hard time finding my place in the classroom. I felt more like an educational assistant than anything else. Next week I am "officially" taking over. But even that looks like a glorified E.A. position. I know I can't have the whole class since I am only a student teacher. I guess the only other thing I would do as a real teacher is all the IEP paperwork.
I forced myself to hang out with friends on Thursday night. I am scared that I will get burned out before I even get a real job. I am just trying to find more balance in my life. My priority next week is to get more time for myself in my schedule. We will see how that goes...
I miss having a life. And now when I get around people the only thing I know to talk about is special education. I feel so out of touch with the rest of the world. And I am pretty sure I am picking up some autistic tendencies. Great.....
I had been having a hard time finding my place in the classroom. I felt more like an educational assistant than anything else. Next week I am "officially" taking over. But even that looks like a glorified E.A. position. I know I can't have the whole class since I am only a student teacher. I guess the only other thing I would do as a real teacher is all the IEP paperwork.
I forced myself to hang out with friends on Thursday night. I am scared that I will get burned out before I even get a real job. I am just trying to find more balance in my life. My priority next week is to get more time for myself in my schedule. We will see how that goes...
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Disability vs. Learned Behavior
Working in a high school level life skills class one gets to see how the educational system has benefited or hindered a student. It never ceases to amaze me how people can undermine the abilities of a person with a disability. Case in point: K. who is a student who has autism and seizures.
This student would throw fits and scream when he did not get his way. So in order to prevent the behaviors, his former teacher put him a wheelchair in case he had a seizure. This also controlled him enough that the were able to push him around the gym to appease him. He was isolated from his peers. He had no expectations placed on him.
Then he gets to Steve's amazing class. And Steve creates an environment where students are given the tool to be independent to the best of their ability. The student no longer has the wheelchair (he only needed it in case he had a drop seizure). He goes to P.E. and joins the group. He gets his own snacks. He even uses a switch to go in front of the class and communicate a message of his choice (i.e. talk about the weather, schedules, something special, etc.). He has a voice.
The reason I bring up students like K. is because they have so much potential in the right hands. So much of what we define as "disability" is actually a learned helplessness. I am not downplaying the fact that these students do have disabilities and it means that they may interact with their environment in more creative ways than most people. BUT sometimes the people who should be pushing them to be the best they can be (i.e. parents and teachers) are the ones holding them back. I think every person wants to have a voice and be heard. This population is no different. They don't want to be treated like helpless babies. They can be successful if they have creative people working with them who think outside of the box in order to find ways for them to be heard. That is what I strive to do in my class. Let's see how it works out:).
This student would throw fits and scream when he did not get his way. So in order to prevent the behaviors, his former teacher put him a wheelchair in case he had a seizure. This also controlled him enough that the were able to push him around the gym to appease him. He was isolated from his peers. He had no expectations placed on him.
Then he gets to Steve's amazing class. And Steve creates an environment where students are given the tool to be independent to the best of their ability. The student no longer has the wheelchair (he only needed it in case he had a drop seizure). He goes to P.E. and joins the group. He gets his own snacks. He even uses a switch to go in front of the class and communicate a message of his choice (i.e. talk about the weather, schedules, something special, etc.). He has a voice.
The reason I bring up students like K. is because they have so much potential in the right hands. So much of what we define as "disability" is actually a learned helplessness. I am not downplaying the fact that these students do have disabilities and it means that they may interact with their environment in more creative ways than most people. BUT sometimes the people who should be pushing them to be the best they can be (i.e. parents and teachers) are the ones holding them back. I think every person wants to have a voice and be heard. This population is no different. They don't want to be treated like helpless babies. They can be successful if they have creative people working with them who think outside of the box in order to find ways for them to be heard. That is what I strive to do in my class. Let's see how it works out:).
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
The Problem with Placement
This week I started working in a high school life skills class. When I think of life skills I imagine students in wheelchairs or that they have low-functioning autism or have intellectual disabilities to the point of having limited verbal communication. I was surprised when half my class had intellectual disabilities and could carry on a conversation with me.
So then the question on my mind is why is a young man who has a first grade reading level and can function with minimal assistance in the same class as student who has cerebral palsy? Blame it on the system. When determining placement the IEP team has to look at every option. The problem is that in between being placed in a life skills class or pulled out in a resource room, there are few options for these students.
I can't even imagine how those higher functioning students feel being placed in a class with kids that are so much more academically and socially below their level. It would be like placing a sophomore in high school in the same class as a kindergartener. They have such very different needs.
The students with intellectual disabilities put up with the students who have autism or down syndrome. They treat them with the same patience an adult might with a small child. One young man was very happy when I came into his class. He has an intellectual disability and was grateful to play catch with someone who could throw the ball.
So it is in this strange world where we assume that all people with the same disability need the same levels of support. Therefore we put them in classes with their disabled "peers" and assume they can benefit from the same level of academic and functional supports. I will try not to complain. It is just that the bottom line is that special educators need to understand that these students are on INDIVIDUALIZED Education Plans because they are individuals.
So then the question on my mind is why is a young man who has a first grade reading level and can function with minimal assistance in the same class as student who has cerebral palsy? Blame it on the system. When determining placement the IEP team has to look at every option. The problem is that in between being placed in a life skills class or pulled out in a resource room, there are few options for these students.
I can't even imagine how those higher functioning students feel being placed in a class with kids that are so much more academically and socially below their level. It would be like placing a sophomore in high school in the same class as a kindergartener. They have such very different needs.
The students with intellectual disabilities put up with the students who have autism or down syndrome. They treat them with the same patience an adult might with a small child. One young man was very happy when I came into his class. He has an intellectual disability and was grateful to play catch with someone who could throw the ball.
So it is in this strange world where we assume that all people with the same disability need the same levels of support. Therefore we put them in classes with their disabled "peers" and assume they can benefit from the same level of academic and functional supports. I will try not to complain. It is just that the bottom line is that special educators need to understand that these students are on INDIVIDUALIZED Education Plans because they are individuals.
Foreigner in a Strange Land
Week 3 of student teaching. I miss my behavior kids. No restraints. No yelling. No cursing. No runners. What is this horrible place? What is a girl who is used to dodging punches and being called every name in the book supposed to do? It just doesn’t feel right. These kids listen. I don’t even have to count to three. I am a foreigner in a strange land.
Alright some parts of a life skills class are nice. I don’t come home exhausted from having to do a seated restraint on a kid because the safe room that was supposed to be built in the summer was never built and now it is November. Definitely don’t miss those days where you hate yourself for having to put your hands on a kid. Or coming home with bite marks and bruises.
But being in a life skills classroom is different. I feel like I moved to a different country. I like the culture. The staff is awesome. The kids are amazing. I just don’t speak the language or completely understand their culture.
I feel like a tourist who has studied up on a country and then when you arrive at the country you feel completely unprepared. Granted, most of my training in low-incidence disabilities has been beneficial. But I am working with individuals, not statistics. Each individual person is different and deserves to be treated like an individual and not a list of characteristics from a textbook on disabilities.
I always felt the best way to learn the language was to immerse yourself in the culture. When I took Spanish in high school and college I became increasingly frustrated. The Spanish I learned wasn’t what was going to help me out on the streets in Mexico. I needed to be in a position where I had to be completely immersed in the culture and could only speak the language.
The problem with life skills is that I feel like I am in a U.N. meeting with no translators! I am trying to communicate with various individuals who all speak different languages. Some are non-verbal. Some use itouches to tell you their basic needs. Some speak ASL. Some show you pictures. All of them don’t understand body language at some level. Do they make an English to disability dictionary to help me translate? Of course, if I could understand those students they are probably feeling the same way.
Alright some parts of a life skills class are nice. I don’t come home exhausted from having to do a seated restraint on a kid because the safe room that was supposed to be built in the summer was never built and now it is November. Definitely don’t miss those days where you hate yourself for having to put your hands on a kid. Or coming home with bite marks and bruises.
But being in a life skills classroom is different. I feel like I moved to a different country. I like the culture. The staff is awesome. The kids are amazing. I just don’t speak the language or completely understand their culture.
I feel like a tourist who has studied up on a country and then when you arrive at the country you feel completely unprepared. Granted, most of my training in low-incidence disabilities has been beneficial. But I am working with individuals, not statistics. Each individual person is different and deserves to be treated like an individual and not a list of characteristics from a textbook on disabilities.
I always felt the best way to learn the language was to immerse yourself in the culture. When I took Spanish in high school and college I became increasingly frustrated. The Spanish I learned wasn’t what was going to help me out on the streets in Mexico. I needed to be in a position where I had to be completely immersed in the culture and could only speak the language.
The problem with life skills is that I feel like I am in a U.N. meeting with no translators! I am trying to communicate with various individuals who all speak different languages. Some are non-verbal. Some use itouches to tell you their basic needs. Some speak ASL. Some show you pictures. All of them don’t understand body language at some level. Do they make an English to disability dictionary to help me translate? Of course, if I could understand those students they are probably feeling the same way.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Do We Need a Label?
Two articles we read this week discussed the issue of labeling children with special needs. One article talked about how beneficial these labels were to the student. They provide the students with IEPs so they can get an education that meets their learning styles, they get money from the government, and it helps teachers best know how to prepare to help these students (Siders, Kaye). But it can appear to be oppressive by saying “Johnny has autism” or by putting these children in special classrooms. But whether or not these students have these labels the students from other classrooms notice that these students are different.
A student I work with has a label of autism and emotional disturbance. No one had to tell the class he was mainstreamed into that this kid was different. The student has absolutely no social skills. He gets too close to the other students, he yells at the teacher, and has even attacked other students in the bathroom. Most kids don’t act like that. He sticks out like a sore thumb in that classroom. And the other kids don’t want to hang out with him because his disability affects his relationship towards them.
I guess I am just one of those people that likes nice, little boxes sometimes. I like having labels as bad as that sounds. It gives me, as an educator, a starting point when thinking of methods I can use to help a student. For example, if I know a child has autism then there are some characteristics of that disability that most children have and there are some great methods that can be implemented and then modified to meet that child’s specific needs.
I don’t think we need to worry as much about the labels as we do the stereotypes that accompany them. One of the issues the article on “Disability as an Issue of Marginilization” addressed was that when we discuss equity issues we leave out disability. I feel that diversity too often refers solely to race and ethnicity. So schools address the issue in the curriculum by bringing in references to minorities. That is awesome and needs to be done. However, as special educators we are trying to integrate our students as best we can into a community that does not understand disability. No wonder kids like the one I discussed above don’t fit in. Their peers have no idea how to deal with them.
Recently HBO put out a movie on Temple Grandin, a woman who has autism and has done amazing things for the ranching community. I wish there were more movies out there like this one. It shows how she struggled with daily life, but because she "thinks in pictures", as she would say, it helped her design shoots for the cattle to go through so they would not be scared. Even though her autism makes it hard for her to live out some aspects of her life she has been able to verbalize this and help other people with autism. She is a very intelligent and talented woman. I wish that message was being given to the world more often. Her "label" does not hinder her. In fact, I think it shows the world that just because someone has a "disability" does not mean that they are broken or unable to function. They just have a different way of looking and interacting with the world.
A student I work with has a label of autism and emotional disturbance. No one had to tell the class he was mainstreamed into that this kid was different. The student has absolutely no social skills. He gets too close to the other students, he yells at the teacher, and has even attacked other students in the bathroom. Most kids don’t act like that. He sticks out like a sore thumb in that classroom. And the other kids don’t want to hang out with him because his disability affects his relationship towards them.
I guess I am just one of those people that likes nice, little boxes sometimes. I like having labels as bad as that sounds. It gives me, as an educator, a starting point when thinking of methods I can use to help a student. For example, if I know a child has autism then there are some characteristics of that disability that most children have and there are some great methods that can be implemented and then modified to meet that child’s specific needs.
I don’t think we need to worry as much about the labels as we do the stereotypes that accompany them. One of the issues the article on “Disability as an Issue of Marginilization” addressed was that when we discuss equity issues we leave out disability. I feel that diversity too often refers solely to race and ethnicity. So schools address the issue in the curriculum by bringing in references to minorities. That is awesome and needs to be done. However, as special educators we are trying to integrate our students as best we can into a community that does not understand disability. No wonder kids like the one I discussed above don’t fit in. Their peers have no idea how to deal with them.
Recently HBO put out a movie on Temple Grandin, a woman who has autism and has done amazing things for the ranching community. I wish there were more movies out there like this one. It shows how she struggled with daily life, but because she "thinks in pictures", as she would say, it helped her design shoots for the cattle to go through so they would not be scared. Even though her autism makes it hard for her to live out some aspects of her life she has been able to verbalize this and help other people with autism. She is a very intelligent and talented woman. I wish that message was being given to the world more often. Her "label" does not hinder her. In fact, I think it shows the world that just because someone has a "disability" does not mean that they are broken or unable to function. They just have a different way of looking and interacting with the world.
Professionalism vs. Accessibility
I think I might be the only one at this point enjoying “Culture in Special Education”. It is challenging, but I find it very stimulating and thought provoking. The last chapter we read discussed the balance between professionalism and being personal. If people ask me about my job and the field of special education I typically have various facts memorized and come across sounding like a textbook. I try to be careful not to do that.
I think it is just the teacher in me. I feel like society places on the teacher the burden of having to “know” everything which I by no means do. And when we present that information I feel like there is an expectation to sound authoritative. For example, I am a very detailed person. I had an encounter with a parent several months ago where her child refused to board the bus after school. When I talked with her, in retrospect, I gave her a very detailed accounting of what took place and what interventions I used to help her child make a better choice. Then I threw in a few teacher phrases like “he had a really great day at school” and “we are working on making good choices”.
I step back and wonder what that parent thought. Here I was being overly thorough to a woman who I am sure just wanted to get her child home. She lives with the child and I am sure he displays similar actions at home. I often times wear the scientific, objective “hat” in front of parents so that I sound credible. But I am starting to wonder if I come across as apathetic and cold toward them.
Like many people I hate going to the doctor and the dentist. I am starting to develop a theory that most doctors do not have very good people skills. I had a root canal done about a week ago. I was terrified as I went into the room because I had no idea what to expect. It also did not help that I walked by the tray of needles they were going to inject me with. Would it be painful? What exactly was a root canal? Would it hurt afterwards? Did it really take two hours to complete?
My dentist, bless his heart, came in and was very professional. He started to inject me with a numbing agent and told me to make sure I let him know if I felt any pain. To him this was just another routine procedure, but to me this was a very scary process. His assistant did a better job of explaining what was taking place and made sure that I was alright. I survived, but I went was very anxious the whole time.
It made me think about how I am sure some parents feel entering in the field of special education. They have no idea what is about to take place. I want to make them feel comfortable and make myself approachable to them, but I also want to balance that with a level of professionalism. When they ask me questions I want them to feel like I am a viable and trustworthy source of information and that their child’s education is in good hands.
I think it is just the teacher in me. I feel like society places on the teacher the burden of having to “know” everything which I by no means do. And when we present that information I feel like there is an expectation to sound authoritative. For example, I am a very detailed person. I had an encounter with a parent several months ago where her child refused to board the bus after school. When I talked with her, in retrospect, I gave her a very detailed accounting of what took place and what interventions I used to help her child make a better choice. Then I threw in a few teacher phrases like “he had a really great day at school” and “we are working on making good choices”.
I step back and wonder what that parent thought. Here I was being overly thorough to a woman who I am sure just wanted to get her child home. She lives with the child and I am sure he displays similar actions at home. I often times wear the scientific, objective “hat” in front of parents so that I sound credible. But I am starting to wonder if I come across as apathetic and cold toward them.
Like many people I hate going to the doctor and the dentist. I am starting to develop a theory that most doctors do not have very good people skills. I had a root canal done about a week ago. I was terrified as I went into the room because I had no idea what to expect. It also did not help that I walked by the tray of needles they were going to inject me with. Would it be painful? What exactly was a root canal? Would it hurt afterwards? Did it really take two hours to complete?
My dentist, bless his heart, came in and was very professional. He started to inject me with a numbing agent and told me to make sure I let him know if I felt any pain. To him this was just another routine procedure, but to me this was a very scary process. His assistant did a better job of explaining what was taking place and made sure that I was alright. I survived, but I went was very anxious the whole time.
It made me think about how I am sure some parents feel entering in the field of special education. They have no idea what is about to take place. I want to make them feel comfortable and make myself approachable to them, but I also want to balance that with a level of professionalism. When they ask me questions I want them to feel like I am a viable and trustworthy source of information and that their child’s education is in good hands.
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