Reality 101: CEC's blog for new teachers

Jennifer: Mission: Literacy

Reading instruction and assessments have been at the forefront of my mind lately. I am currently taking a course for a second credential specific to the various methods of reading instruction, including read-alouds, shared reading, literacy circles, and so on. This is a repeat class for me because my units from one university didn’t carry over. I got an A in it the first time, so I thought it would be a piece of cake. I was so wrong.

When we take the quizzes on what each lesson structure is, I get a good grade . . . no sweat. But when I go into detail about how I actually use the different methods in my classrooms, the “alterations” that are necessary to meet the needs of my kids either cause huge confusion or deviate from the structure so much that, really, I’m just teaching reading my own way. But what else can I do? My students have needs that require changes to be made.

For example, for Shared Reading Instruction and Guided Reading, I need to do everything digitally. I have to make PowerPoint/KeyNote presentations in order to help my students focus on the front of the room and be able read the text. For some of my students, text that is too close requires more movement to scan, which requires more muscle control, which takes away from focus and comprehension of the text altogether. Also, our “Word Wall” is done the same way so I can also put it on my students’ computers and make frequent changes.

Kathy: A Special Part of My Story

I have a daughter with special needs. Those words are so easy to write, but they were so hard to accept.

Dana lagged behind other children her age; the doctor called it “delayed milestones.” I hoped that she was just a late bloomer. Starting school was a nightmare for both of us. She was shy and scared and did not participate. She just wanted to be left alone in a corner and talk to herself.

I worked hard with her, trying to catch her up to her peers. Every year teachers would raise concerns and I would work even harder. Eventually she was tested and we discovered her IQ was below normal. I decided I wasn’t going to let a test dictate what my daughter could do. She was behind her peers, but not enough to qualify for special education. One school psychologist even tried to label her as ADD (which she is not) just to get her special education services. I did not appreciate this gesture. I was so afraid of a label defining my child.

Katie: My IEP Pet Peeves

I…E...P…dundundun! These are three often intimidating letters for students, parents, and (new) teachers. IEPs are supposed to help our students make individual gains. However, I am starting to find that many schools’ faculty are creating and implementing these individualized tools for an assortment of inappropriate reasons.

Through my coursework (which included a class called IFSP/IEP Development for Young Children) I have learned that IEPs are to follow some general rules:

• Goals should be developed for Tier III needs (those that require specific systematic intervention).
• Skills that are newly introduced in the general curriculum or skills that same-age peers may struggle with due to age appropriate difficulties should not be targeted unless specific adaptations and modifications will be used in intervention. 
• Goals should follow a logical sequence according to the hierarchical manner in which they are to be learned.
• Goals should aim to assist students in their academic, social, and functional skills as appropriately needed.
• Parents should be involved with development and decision making and must be able to understand what is on the IEP.
• Goals should be INDIVIDUALIZED.

Ellen: A Bittersweet Goodbye

I recently shared about a student in my classroom who displays serious aggression toward me. I had offered many suggestions for appropriate supports to make our setting work for this student. After months of feeling unheard, staffing shortages suddenly spurred a response. I think there was also pressure from some administrators at the county level who became aware of the situation inadvertently from another teacher at my school.
 
A whirlwind Functional Behavior Assessment and Behavior Intervention Plan process followed and, less than a month later, the IEP team has determined that he will be transitioned to a more restrictive setting immediately after Thanksgiving break.

The change in setting is right for him. He will be in a behavior support program with a lower ratio, access to a full-time behavior specialist, and a more structured daily schedule. I met the staff, spoke at length with the behavior specialist, and think this is the right outcome for this student.

Jennifer: Teachable Moments

I once had a second-grade student who would get in trouble for being on his “cell phone” constantly in class. He talked to everyone he knew—sometimes nicely, sometimes yelling and disrupting the lesson.

This problem would have been easy to solve if we could just take the cell phone away. But in this case, the cell phone was not a phone at all, but my student’s little clenched fist held up to his ear, and the people on the other line were nothing more than his vivid imagination and memory of past conversations.

His constant conversations were becoming a problem. No matter how many tokens he lost, he still wanted to talk on his “phone.” He didn’t care if he had to work during choice time, because again, he had his phone with him. I didn’t know what to do about his behavior. Five minutes after I would ask him to “hang up,” he’d go and dial another number and be on the phone again. I felt like I was losing my mind!

Kathy: The Difficult Student

I have a student who is difficult not to find repugnant. It makes me feel small to admit this, but it is a reality I face. “Bridget” does not take care of herself physically. She is obese. She dresses in elastic waistband pants that are always falling down. Her hair is often unclean and has no style. She wears t-shirts that are much too large for her and have unattractive images on them.

Most of the time Bridget sits with her mouth hanging open and a scowl on her face. She is slow to respond and unmotivated. She seems to be perfectly content to sit all day. The only thing that gets her the least bit excited is food. I have found her sneaking a drink of the concentrated lemon juice we use in our cleaning spray. She takes sugar packets out of the teachers’ coffee area to eat. She is constantly begging food off of the class.

I often find her just sitting in the room she is supposed to be cleaning. When asked what she is doing, she will give me her blank stare or tell me that she is finished. When I look around, it is obvious she has put little to no effort into the task. The most frustrating part is that she can do so much more.

Katie: When Will I Become "a Professional"?

As a new teacher still working on my master’s degree and the youngest person on staff at my center, I find it difficult to consider myself *trumpets* “a professional.” I’ve yet to build all the confidence I need to feel like I know what I’m talking about when communicating with families, co-workers, and students. At least I know I have the children in my classroom beat, though they still can throw me for a loop with some of their questions and comments.

I feel confident that I know the children in my classroom well enough to give an accurate description of them to others. However, I still second-guess myself, wondering “did I just sound ridiculous?” or “I’m pretty sure that didn’t make sense.” Because the children in my classroom use Autism Scholarship funds to attend our out-of-their-district preschool, I have to tell other schools’ professional teams where these children are in their development. It’s hard to believe you sound like an educated person when you still are learning about special education, the IEP process, and the key terms used to describe a child’s behavior or ability level. This week alone I got off the phone several times thinking “oh, they think I’m an idiot.”

Ellen: Why Are You Dressed Like A Hot Dog?

Around Halloween, my school holds a “Story Book Character Day,” which I found kind of offensive my first year. I was shocked that many kindergarten and first-grade students came to school in costume, especially when I found out all those Star Wars Storm Troopers were supposed to be book characters. There are many students at my school who do not participate in Halloween for religious or cultural reasons, so I thought this excuse to wear costumes to school that conveniently coincided with the holiday was a little insensitive.

That being said, I dressed up as Eric Carle’s The Grouchy Ladybug and my students absolutely loved it. I was also very pleased to find that almost all of the other kindergarten and first-grade kids did dress up as actual book characters, as I guess most families either felt that it didn’t glorify Halloween or maybe didn’t want their students to be excluded.

Katie: Full-Time Work + Full-Time School = One Crazy Life

Juggling full-time graduate school and full-time work makes for one heck of a chaotic life. My to-do list is difficult to keep up with as it grows and grows throughout the week. To make matters worse, it’s hard for me to maintain my concentration on the task at hand. When I’m at work I want to do school stuff, when I’m at school I want to do work stuff, and on weekends I would rather spend my time with family, friends, and my pillow (oh how I miss the pillow!).

It’s hard to stay on top of all the work I need to complete, whether it be planning home visits, writing 10-page papers, posting in a discussion, planning for a team meeting, maintaining data collection sheets, and so on. I’m managing—but not as well as I would like to be. Basically, I’m overwhelmed. (By the way, here’s a sample data collection sheet, which one reader requested a while back.)

It’s hard for me to ask for help or know what exactly I need to be helped with, so . . . I try to take on everything! This is not necessarily the best route, I know, but I’m not quite sure what else to do. (I’m coming to realize that my perfectionist, control freak, “I’ll do it all myself” personality isn’t helping in this situation, but that is so hard to change.)