Blog Post 8

The most important thing that I have learning during my Field work experience is...THAT I CAN 100% SAY I WANT TO TEACH! I still question my abilities daily and constantly overwhelm myself with thoughts of how will I handle certain situations. I always have wondered if I have chosen the right career, but I am positive now that this is what I want to do. I may be considered selfish for finding this to be the most important thing I have learned. I think that hands down students deserve a teacher who wants to be there and who wants help them succeed no matter the circumstance over a teacher who really doesn't want to be there, but was too afraid to turn around and search for a whole new career. Am I scared? YES! Will I ever succeed without trying? NO! I don't know all the answers and I probably never will, I look forward to learning from experience, and I pray that my students and parents  the first couple of years are very forgiving and patient to my imperfections. I look forward to the chance to implement my newfound knowledge and to hopefully become a role model for my students. As a new mom I am overjoyed as I watch my little one learn new skills and perfect them and I know that joy will carry on with my students as I watch learn new things and be able to fine tune them.

Blog Entry 7

One of the things that I have noticed during my field work is that there are no posted class rules in my classroom, but I also have to be reminded that it's special ed. and each child in a sense needs their own set of rules based on their learning requirements. Also because they require specific learning, they are placed with Ms. K year after year. Unlike most general ed. students who come in for 9 months and then leave, Ms. K's students come back each year, so she does not have to teach a new set of students the class rules each year. They know what Ms. K requires of them and they know what she will not accept from them.
One of the big things I have noticed in all successful classrooms is consistency. For my field work, I have stuck with Tuesdays and Thursdays....again to keep with consistency. Every Tuesday, when I am there our schedule begins with one on one time. While some kids are with aids working on reading, math, or may be in inclusion, other are watching a video awaiting their turn. Next is time to run, Kay has the student run laps on the play ground to help get their wiggles out, get some fresh air, wake them up and get their blood pumping. We then come in and do class meeting where we go over the days of the week, the day of the month, the weather, the pledge of allegiance, how many days we have been in school etc. After class meeting is recess and then comes Library. After the library the kids then have a very structured plan of getting packed up and ready to go home. Because the kids all have IEP's they all require that specific instruction and organization and consistency is key to helping them learn the most.

Blog Entry 6

When working with Special Needs kids, it is probably obvious that you will be working with all types of personalities and learning modalities. I have learned this semester that a child's personality does affect the way the they learn. When using strategies to actively engage the children, you have to know the ways in which the children learn. In my time spent in my classroom so far I have noticed that different strategies take place every day. The main activity that we do daily is our class meeting where we discuss the days of the week, the weather, how many days we have been in school, any upcoming holidays etc. For each part of class meeting there are usually 3 or more counter parts.

1. Repetition: When discussing the days of the week, we first start with the teacher or class leader telling the day of the week it is, what yesterday was and what tomorrow will be. They then respond with "Please say it with me" and they now repeat it as a group. 2. Song or dance: Once the verbal has been completed we now physically or musically engage them, or sometimes both. We have a song called "jump down, turn around" The kids stand and while physically Jumping and turning around they sing the day of the week it is and date of the month. 3: Visual: Once 1 and 2 are completed we will then do some sort of visual activity like hiding the straws the resemble the number of days we have been in school or hiding the cards that state the days of week. This also teaches the kids mental math because after each item has been found, we respond with "there were 8 straws, 2 have been found, there are 6 left to find".

When we are participating in class meeting, everyone participates. If there is so much as one child that is not talking, singing etc. We stop and start over and we keep doing that until EVERYONE participates. Often times Ms. Kay will offer rewards to those who are participating in hopes to encourage those who are not.