Reality 101: CEC's blog for new teachers

Jennifer: Pink Slip

I am usually pretty inspired by my job. I get ideas for worksheets to make and lessons to plan, and most of the time my school day yields very uplifting and motivating side effects. Recently, though, the days have gotten more and more stressful, and what little motivation I have had has been channeled into writing my congressman.

As I wrote earlier, I came to my new district pretty late in the year. People at my old job urged me to make sure that my new teaching home is secure and stable, so that I wouldn’t get into any “unfortunate circumstances” down the line. Being the absolute last hire, I naively relied on the comfort of being in special education as a form of job security. I had never gotten a pink slip before; my old district was somehow able to protect me from the back and forth between the union, teachers, and the district, basically shielding me from the anguish that some of my friends were going through. I attended a couple of union meetings and, while I felt compassion for my co-workers, I never really understood what was going on there because I wasn’t “in it.”

This year has been the exact opposite experience. Needless to say, the pink slip arrived, and my warm welcome into educational politics was extended. I just feel SO unprepared for this. There are so many rules about what can be said, who can know what, who can ask questions and when, and so on. I haven’t been able to find any written rules for this whole thing, so I’m learning as I go.

"Reality 101" Bloggers To Appear at CEC 2010

You’ve been following them all year -- now you can meet them face-to-face! The "Reality 101" bloggers will be making special appearances at the CEC 2010 Convention & Expo, taking place April 21-24 in Nashville.

Come see our bloggers as they read some of their favorite posts from the 2009-2010 school year and share what it’s like to be new to the field. They’ve had successes and challenges, ups and downs . . . but no matter what, their stories showcase just how rewarding a career in special education can be.

Who: Bloggers from “Reality 101,” CEC’s blog for new teachers

When: Thursday, April 22, 2 p.m. and Friday, April 23, 11 a.m.

Where: CEC Store (located in the Expo Hall), Gaylord Opryland Hotel & Convention Center, Nashville

Click here to find out more about this year's convention -- the largest professional development event dedicated to special and gifted education.

Ellen: 50% in Five Years

That’s the big statistic: According to the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, 50 percent of new teachers in the United States will leave the teaching profession within their first five years.

People like to quote such numbers, I’ve found, and you’ve probably heard it before too. Mostly people who aren’t teachers themselves. Usually people without a solution: complainers, finger-pointers, fire-and-brimstone-invokers who aren’t big fans of our public education system. Or media outlets who like to fan the flames.

But today I quoted that statistic to my principal, when I handed in my intent form for next year. Fifty percent of new teachers leave the profession within five years.

I don’t want to be one of them.

Jennifer: Good Bet

I don’t typically start off a blog entry with a poker tournament flashback (because up until 24 hours ago I had nothing to flash back to), but here it goes.

Last night I had the privilege of attending a charity poker tournament to raise money for Conductive Education, more specifically, ConductAbility Inc., which is a program I have been working alongside in my classroom this year. I thought it would be a fun chance to meet people and share some stories, as well as a good opportunity to really “grasp the rules” of Texas Hold ‘Em.

So there I was at 8 p.m., sitting at a small table with very, very large men who could shuffle their chips in one hand without looking while I just stared at mine and felt the dreadful realization of what I was in for slowly wash over me. I knew I was in trouble when the first question out of the guy across from me was, “So what number tournament is this for you?” Um… does “number one” sound intimidating enough? I thought he must be kidding.

Kathy: Are WE ready for Our Students to Date?

I work with 18-to-26 year-old students. And what do most young adults spend much of their time thinking about? That’s right, the opposite sex.

My students, who have mild disabilities, are no different. One young man has a crush on one of the young ladies in our school. They started “dating.” Then one day, he came to school crying and told me that his parents did not feel he was ready to date. I thought to myself, maybe his parents are not ready for their child to date.

But I noticed that within a couple of days, their “dating” behavior returned. Our administrator has tried to ban any PDA (public displays of affection)—notice the verb “tried.” Ready or not, parents and teachers, these young adults are entering the dating phase.

Here is what I have observed from my own daughter with special needs, as well as my students. They want to be like their peers; they want to be able to say they have a boyfriend or girlfriend. And it is important to find out what exactly that means to them.

Ellen: Student/Child/Boy/Girl/Son/Daughter/Man/Woman/PEOPLE with Disabilities

Last week I read two articles in Time and People magazines that referred to individuals with Down syndrome as “Downs,” “Downs syndrome kids,” and even “the disabled.” Say what you will about the quality of my personal magazine subscriptions, but do a search for “the disabled” on the Washington Post or the New York Times Web sites and see how much it pops up. It’s everywhere.

Today, March 3, happens to be the official awareness day of the Special Olympics’ nationwide campaign to discontinue derogatory use of the “r-word” and promote acceptance of people with intellectual disabilities. I encourage all of you to pledge your support at www.r-word.org.

Media outlets have been stepping all over themselves recently trying to report on this campaign, the “Family Guy” vs. Sarah Palin incident, and Rahm Emanuel’s misstep. As tasty as those stories are, I wish journalists would slow down their mouths and fingers long enough to process the actual language they use to describe people with disabilities. While the word “retard” certainly occurs in public discourse much more often than it should, it is indicative of a much larger and more widespread problem.

Jennifer: Learners Seeing Learners

When I started my new job last fall, I needed to obtain a second credential in order to meet my students’ needs (well, and California’s…). I took one course on reading instruction, and the professor always emphasized the importance of students being able to “see themselves as readers.”

Day in and day out, I think about that as I encourage my students to read in groups, together as a class, and even when they work together using their various forms of communication to complete a task. Some of them are excellent readers, while others need consistent prompting. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out how in the world to get my struggling students to “see themselves as readers” when it takes so much motivation and encouragement to even get them to try to read.

I’ve realized that before they see themselves as readers, they need to see themselves as learners.