Service Hours

I completed 3.5 hours of my service hours by going to Helping Hands. I interacted with individuals who had special needs. One week we created rockets and we all got to create one that represents. Another week we created a mosaics in preparation for the Art Show. It was fun to be a child all over again but I find it difficult to interact sometimes with individuals who are special in God's eyes.

Service Hours

For my service hours I volunteered at Journeys-Developmental Disability Agency. I shadowed one of the workers (who also happens to be my roommate) for a few days while she was working with some children who have disabilities. We took them to the library, took them out to eat, and just payed games with them. It was interesting to see the ad the vast difference between kids. Some had the same disability, but they reacted very differently. Doing these service hours helped me to realize how difficult, yet rewarding it can be to work with children with disabilities. They threw temper tantrums, but then afterwards would come up to us and hug us and want to kiss us on the cheek. It may be exhausting, but it was also very fun.

Service Hours

I did my four service hours at the elementary school where I work (before my normal work hours). I helped in the resource room. It was a great experience to see how the special ed teacher works and how she runs her classroom. I also enjoyed being able to work with students in the resource room that I often work with in my job. I enjoyed being able to talk to some of the children about what they were doing and how they felt about the resource room. The students I talked to said that they really like the resource room and the special ed. teacher. One student that I especially liked talking to and helping is a second grader with autism. I learned more about him and what he does in the resource room. One thing that the students worked on was fractions. They also worked in reading groups and with a speech-language pathologist via web cam (she is actually in California). I loved being able to work with students and get to know them better.

Visual Impairment

The visual impairment was also really difficult. The masks where just the left or right eye was covered were a challenge, but not as much as the other two (where there were only tiny openings). I brought the masks home during the time that I reserved them and tried to do normal day-to-day things, like doing the dishes. It was not easy to see what I was doing. I got frustrated that I could hardly see what I was doing. After I finished using the masks I was surprised to see that really did not do a good job tidying up because I couldn’t see what I was doing. Having impaired vision impacted me more than I thought it would. I also noticed that the masks sometimes gave me a headache, or when I switched masks or could finally see normally again my eyes had to adjust. Once again, I was amazed at how much I take my vision for granted! Not being able to use one eye, for example, makes such a huge difference. I’m so glad that I can see without difficulty   

Wheelchair Experience

I expected that the wheelchair experience would be difficult, but it was much harder than I thought it would be! I never fully appreciated the strength that you need to navigate a wheelchair. When I was going down a hill, I almost wiped out twice because I couldn’t steer and use the brakes very well. It took a lot of strength to hold the wheel and direct myself while going downhill. It was also hard to go up the hill. Going to the restroom was very challenging as well. One of the hardest parts was just getting over the lip under the door just to get inside the bathroom. Luckily someone helped me and I was able to get inside. It was also really hard not to use my legs at all when transferring myself from the wheelchair to the toilet. I was amazed at how much I take my legs for granted. I guess when you don’t have an orthopedic impairment you lose sight of how your legs allow you to do countless things that you normally don’t even think about. At times I was definitely embarrassed because I was so bad at using the wheelchair. I would run into things or have trouble steering. I was grateful though that several people were willing to help me. Overall, it was a really good experience!

IEPs

This situation is extremely difficult to address but I think that when students who are on IEPs and cannot see that they are progressing they won't want to continue to learn. They will feel as if they are worthless. We cannot them to feel bad about themselves. We need to show them that they although they might be slow to learn certain topics that they  are still able to learn and succeed in so many ways. 

Assessments

(Sorry, this is my other late post.)

I would say that there needs to be balance with assessments and instruction, but I think that assessments help teachers know where the students are at. Without assessments, it would be difficult for teachers to know what instruction is necessary, and what they should focus. Teachers need to know what students are struggling with, as well as what they are proficient in. Assessments may even help teachers how to teach the curriculum (what is working and what is not). So I think that assessments are definitely necessary. Teachers can definitely aim for a balanced approach if they are worried about taking time away from instruction.

Special Ed. Teacher ("Pull Out" vs. "Push In")

(Sorry, this is a post I missed from a few weeks ago)

Personally, I would prefer to work in classroom that uses a resource room (a “pull out” program). I work at an elementary school and have been able to observe the resource room. It sees like the special ed teacher would have more control over the classroom and maybe even be able to teach more effectively in his or her own classroom. In the school where I work, once the kids come in to the resource room they know that Mrs. R is their teacher and that she is going to be in charge. The paraprofessionals are in the room, but the special ed teacher is the one directing and teaching the students. The paraprofessionals are definitely more on the sidelines. I feel like the “push in” method may have more potential for the paraprofessionals to step in a little too much or for it to be confusing for the students about which teacher is in charge. The teachers may also have a hard time feeling like they could be stepping on each other’s toes. It could also be distracting for other students. I can see pros and cons to both kinds of programs, but as a special ed teacher I think I would feel more comfortable and effective in a resource room setting.

IEPs

If I was a teacher in that situation, I think I would first try to talk to the principal about it. I would voice my concerns about the students not doing grade-level work. It doesn’t seem right for some students to be performing below grade level but still get the same grade as students performing A-level, fifth grade work. It’s not a very accurate representation of how the students are actually doing. Getting As in reading should mean that the students are performing high-level work, probably above grade level, so I’m not sure that this is the appropriate time to show that the students on IEPs are making progress. It might be better to have a meeting with parents to talk about the progress the students are making, or maybe talk about it at an IEP meeting, and then give them a grade that reflects their actual reading mastery. I guess in the end, you would probably have to listen to the principal, but I think it would definitely be worth voicing concerns and talking to the principal.