I thought it was very interesting to talk about intrinsic motivation as almost a negative thing. In every other class I've had, it has been the big "goal" we should all reach for. I personally believe that it is a wonderful thing to reach for, but in our society we need the extrinsic motivation to continue on. Our society needs quantitative evidence and tests to equate worth and though I don't always agree with it, I do believe it is necessary.

I have honestly never even heard of intrinsic motivation before this class. I had never thought about it before and I agree that it should not be a goal for children to work towards. It doesn't make sense to do that at all. I also liked what we did to figure out a plan to help the child with their behavior, it's true that focusing on the behavior will really help the child.

FBA

This week, I enjoyed the activity we did with the Functional Behavior Assessment. Seeing as I will be a Special Education Teacher, I will need to understand how they work. I also just found them interesting because it means the regular education has to be more involved, whereas often times, they find out a student needs special assistance and they turn them over to the special education teacher and stay out of the way. I also like that the FBA helps us, as teachers, pay attention to our kids and what their needs are. Before we have our own classroom, I think we have a tendency to think all students will be awesome and have no issues, which is just not the case. We need to be more aware of what our students need, and how we can help them learn, but also how we can help the class as a whole learn better.

Motivations

As a future teacher, I can honestly say that I won't always use intrinsic motivation to motivate my students only because students like to have an immediate reward because of how great it makes them feel when they see immediate results. Students are not like adults who are willing to wait for a reward that may come later in time, they require immediate pleasure in order to feel like they are important. For instance think about when you are potty training your first kid, you use rewards like candy or a toy as an incentive for them to use the potty.

Preschool

Most of my thoughts on this prompt go back to my knowledge of preschool. I plan on being a preschool teacher and in such classrooms one of the most important things is consistency. Children don't know how to deal with inconsistency, especially at this age. consequences can be difficult at their developmental stage, since they don't really understand yet. One thing I have seen in some class rooms is using a stoplight system where a child can begin in green for being good but then be moved to yellow or even red for bad behavior, but again, at this age it can only be so effective. Guiding the child by example and by word is often the most effective behavior changer and shaper.

I am going to be a preschool teacher and so it is hard to give the children a consequence for their behavior it is more of being consistent. For example one of our rules in preschool is to walk in preschool so if the children end up running in the classroom we say oh walk in preschool and then if they still do it we say, "now we have to practice walking" then we grab their hand direct them back to where they started and then walk to their destination. I know that this strategy will only work for some things. One strategy I was thinking about was doing like a Red, Yellow, Green sheet and if the child is good that day they stay in green. If they are bad they would move to the red. I am thinking about preschool age children since that is what I will be is a preschool teacher so having consequences is hard because the children don't really understand that concept yet. I think letting them see that when they act out they get to red and if they are good and come to all the activities they get to stay in green would help them. The thing that is hard about this is that they still might not understand the concept, but it is worth a try I think.

Classroom Management

I think it is important for teachers to begin the school year with telling the students what they expect from them, and let them know that breaking the rules isn't okay. In an elementary school I worked in, there was a teacher who had a consequence wheel. There was a board with all the student's names on it and a little pouch under each of their names. If the teacher had to stop a lesson and tell a student to be quiet that student would have to put a marble in their pouch. If they got to 3 marbles in their pouch, they would have to spin the consequence wheel to see what their punishment would be. On this wheel there were things like, staying in from recess, helping the teacher clean up the classroom, or writing a letter and having their parents sign it. Overall this technique was pretty successful, but a pitfall we saw was that the students would  break off the arrow on the wheel so they wouldn't have to spin. In that case we would just assign them a consequence, which helped them realize that they wouldn't get out of having a punishment for their bad behavior.

Classroom Management

Classroom management styles will vary depending on the teacher in addition to the classroom, however the results are generally the same. From the very beginning of the school year, teachers need to inform and enforce the rules and expectations of the classroom. I have seen what happens when the rules and expectations are not enforced from the very beginning. Children challenge the rules and become argumentative that they didn't have to do this before and that it is not fair. Part of managing a classroom is making sure the classroom is a safe environment for student learning. 

We, as teachers cannot allow our students to run amok because then it reflects on the teacher's record more than on the students' records. Maintaining control and consistency can be very difficult for teachers when comes to management because we want to be liked by our students so we don't want to be to strict but then if we are to easy our students will walk all over us. We need to maintain the professional relationship with our students no matter how well we know them in and out of the classroom.

Classroom Management Strategies

I work at an elementary school right now and the kindergarten teacher uses a classroom management strategy very similar to Brother Beattie’s example. Each kid has a popsicle stick with their name on it. The popsicle sticks start out in a green pouch with a smiley face on it, if the child misbehaves they have to move their stick to a yellow pouch, and if they misbehave again they have to move their stick to a red pouch with a sad face on it. Along the way they got lots of warnings though before they have to move their sticks. One pitfall is that it might be hard to always be consistent and kids probably pick up on that. (They know they have lots of warnings before they might actually have to move their stick.) You could avoid this by trying to consistent every time, or by having clear rules about what constitutes a move from green to yellow and from yellow to red. I’m not sure if this is a classroom management strategy or not, but the kids also have to stay inside during recess if they don’t finish their work on time. So potentially losing recess is used to motivate the kids to get their work done quickly, that way they don’t have to stay inside to finish. I’ve noticed that this is effective – the kids really don’t want to miss their recess so they usually try to get their work done on time. However, they’re only kindergarteners and they only get one 15-minute recess a day, so missing that might actually make it harder to get their work done. Sometimes maybe they need a break. To avoid the pitfalls of this strategy, you may just have to think of another idea altogether of how to motivate the kids to get their work done quickly.

Role of Regular Education Teacher

The regular education teacher has a very important role in the IEP. The regular education teacher is probably the first one to notice that the child may have a disability. The regular education teacher is also the one to think of initial interventions to see if those make a difference in the problems they see.  In the first IEP meeting, and subsequent meetings, the regular ed. teacher has a very important perspective on the child’s progress. Initially, the regular ed. teacher can talk about the issues they have seen and all the things they have done to try to correct the issue. Then, they can talk about how the child is doing in the regular classroom. The regular ed. teacher also has an important perspective on how the interventions, accommodations, and other services are helping the child function in the regular classroom. They have a very helpful role because other professionals who work more with children with disabilities, or with the child in a special education setting, may not see how the child is functioning in the same way that the regular ed. teacher does.

Regular Education Teacher

The role of a teacher is to create a relationship with each and every child in their classroom. Although parents know the most about their child personally teachers see different things than parents do in the child and their learning. Sometimes children will do better (or worse) when in school then they do at home. Teachers are able to see the child in a different way and they know more about where that child should be in their development in education. A lot of the time the teachers request and IEP for the child so it is important that the teacher knows everything about that child and what they are doing so the parents understand what is going on exactly without getting upset.

Regular Teacher's Role

When developing an IEP for a student, the parents usually know their child best however when their child is in the classroom, the teacher is able to see how the child does. They are able to know what the child struggles with most. They are able to relay observations that resulted in creating an IEP. The teacher knows how the child interacts with the other students and is able to judge on how the child is reacting. The teacher will ultimately be the one (most likely) implementing the IEP as not all children would receive an aide in which helps the specific child. The teacher is able to communicate with the IEP team as to what is working and not working in the classroom.

Regular Education Teacher's Role in IEP

Regular Education Teachers are a pretty important part of the IEP process. They are the ones to send in a referral for a student to be observed. They are with these children every day, more often than the Special Education Teachers, so they are able to see what others don't. While a Special Education teacher can see what goes on in the SPED room, and they can have conversations with the regular education teacher, they don't always see to what extent the student is struggling. Throughout the IEP, the regular education teacher has the responsibility to share what they see and experience with the student. They are usually the ones who have to incorporate what is being discussed at the IEP meeting, so they are one of the main factors in the IEP process.

Cedar Rapids Case

(Sorry this is late! For some reason I was thinking it was due today, not yesterday...)

I can see the case from both sides, but I have to side with the parents as well. The first core principle of IDEA states that all students with disabilities, regardless of type or severity, are entitled to a free appropriate public education. The education they receive is provided at no cost to the parents. Another core principle of IDEA is zero reject. This means that no student can be excluded from receiving a public education because of a disability. In Garrett’s case, receiving these services was the only way he could receive an education. If the school district failed to provide the necessary services, Garrett would have been denied a public education, which goes against the laws set by IDEA. I don’t think the school district would have questioned the parents if the services Garrett required were much less costly. However, the school district cannot deny Garrett the services he needs because of money. Garrett’s parents paid for the services while they could, but when the money ran out the school needed to take on that burden. Otherwise, Garrett could not receive an education.  

Rachel Ball

Cedar Rapids Opinion

In all honesty, I would still have to side with the parents although my reasoning is different. I feel like for the first 5 years of Garrett's education was paid for by his parents using the money from the settlement but once that funding ran out, the only place that his parents could turn to was to the school. The school cannot deny Garrett an education because that would be breaking IDEA and NCLB laws, which clearly state that a school district cannot refuse to permit a child to receive their education just because their expenses are too much. The parents did everything that they could to provide for their son's needs but things (money) became tight to the point where they could no longer pay for the in-school care that he needed. The school can't keep a child from receiving their education just because of expenses.

-Rebecca Christiansen

Cedar Rapids

While I agree somewhat with the parents, I have to choose the side of the district. Money is not the major issue that intrigues me, but watching out for all the other children does. I also find that, while we agree that this child has the right to ask for this help, what will stop other parents asking for other services that are not normally covered by the schools, such as hearing aids or glasses. Children still need these to learn, but it is the parents responsibility to provide them.

Cedar Rapids Case-Nicolette Call

I agree with the parents in the Cedar Rapids Case. While I understand the district's case when they say that if they pay for Garret's medical care, they very well may have to start paying for every child's needs, I don't agree with them. IDEA has a Zero Reject policy. This policy states that every child is entitled to public education, regardless of mental or physical ailments. The family wishes for their child to receive a public education, and the district needs to be on board with that, no matter the cost. The Supreme Court tells schools that money is never an excuse to not give child medical care. Yes, Garret is expensive, however he is just as entitled to further his education as every other student in the district. I am a firm believer in equality in the education system. Denying Garret his education because he is too expensive could set a precedent for future cases and make schools think it's okay to deny more children their education due to money, when it simply is not.

Cedar Rapids Case

For the Cedar Rapids case, in my opinion the parents should win the case. IDEA provides education for all children with disabilities, that is the zero-reject law, and if Garrett doesn't have someone there all the time he would not be able to go to school and get the education that he needs. It was not Garrett's decision to be in a wheelchair and have the ventilator, he should be able to get a fair education along with every one else. He doesn't need that much more support besides someone trained there to just make sure nothing happens and if there was a situation where he needed that person, that one person could save his life. There are other ways the school district could make money to provide that person for Garrett, so money should not be an issue.