Reality 101: CEC's blog for new teachers

Meet CEC's New Bloggers!

Reality 101 is proud to announce its blogger lineup for the 2010-11 school year. Brad, Megan, Melissa, and Sheena are newly minted special educators and they’re ready to share their teaching experiences with the special education community. Get to know them and share your own stories as they cope with inclusion, IEPs, assessments, parent relationships, and more.

Sheena: The Toughest Job You Will Ever Love . . .

We’re entering the third month of the 2010-2011 school year and I will continue to use the Peace Corps motto to describe the heart and soul of the service that I provide as a special educator. Team teaching remains the toughest job that I’ll ever love.

My two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa were truly a time of reflection, growth, and resilience. The experience was filled with ups and downs, tears and triumphs, but I survived with the support of countless mentors and friends.

Similarly, in my second year of teaching, I am much more confident in my duties as a student advocate in the classroom and throughout the IEP process. I am familiar with our diverse socioeconomic and cultural student population, and as a result of our school’s community outreach and engagement initiatives, I feel accepted by and connected to the families and parents of the students that we serve.

Melissa: What a Difference a Year Makes

What a difference a year makes! Last year was my first year at my school, and I was hired to teach something they hadn’t had before: a middle school self-contained classroom for students on the autism spectrum. At first, I was scared to death. I heard horror story after horror story of what I was getting myself into. As it would only be my second year of teaching, I was most definitely freaking out. However, as odd as it may sound, I always had a peace about the mission that lay before me.

That first day was utter chaos. There was crying (not me) and confusion (definitely me), but we got through it. I had six students (all boys) and two paraeducators (also both boys), all in one teeny-tiny room. It quickly became known as the “man cave” and we were only a little sad when we got to move to a bigger room in November. We slowly morphed from homeroom-bodies into a grand exodus venturing out to other parts of the building. By the end of the year, my self-contained class was spending about half the day in general education.

Fast-forward to this school year: I was totally excited and prepared for the first day to roll around. I have the same six students and two paras. We all know each others’ quirks and quibbles . . . very well! We got down to work the first day and haven’t slowed up one bit.

Megan: Teacher or Entertainer?

I recently saw a quote from author Gail Godwin: “Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths theater.”

This really got me thinking about how I teach: Is it true? The performance aspect of teaching was definitely not taught in any class I have ever taken. I think all different types of personalities can teach effectively, and I don’t believe there is only one right way to teach. But remembering my own education, the teachers who were the most interesting to watch and listen to were indeed the teachers I responded best to.

Do I have that talent? I definitely feel that I am putting on a daily performance to keep my students engaged; I will try anything to keep them interested and not putting their silly putty in their hair. I once took a brain-based learning class that said that students’ brains are evolving differently and that lessons need to be more colorful, more fast-paced, and more fun to keep them interested in learning. When my students learn to read sight words from video games, how do I compete?

Brad: Hands out of Pockets, Get Busy!

When I worked as a busboy at a Vietnamese restaurant, I would abhor a slow evening. A restaurant doesn’t need to have a constant line of costumers to remain successful, but it needs enough to establish a rhythm, both for its clientele and its staff.

Tables cleared, I would be ahead of my work and give in to the temptation to watch diners from the safety of the bamboo service window. Each time it happened, the Vietnamese owner reached out to deliver a quick tap to my arm. “Hands out of pockets, get busy!” she’d say. By the end of the night, I’d have learned to help the dishwasher and to sweep the front entryway between turning tables.

Fast-forward some 15 years later. After earning degrees in English and Special Education, the mantra “hands out of pockets, get busy” still rumbles through my mind. I’ve come to appreciate that we all have a particular rhythm of learning. I’ve come to push myself to become more aware of the subtle cues students give.

Coming Soon from Reality 101!

CEC has recruited all new bloggers for the 2010-11 school year, bringing with them fresh new perspectives on life as a beginning special educator.

They'll make their great debut in October -- so stay tuned! We encourage readers, both peer and veteran educators, to get to know these bloggers, offer them advice, and share their own stories through the Reality 101 blog. There will be successes and challenges, ups and downs . . . but no matter what, their stories will showcase just how rewarding a career in special education can be.

Kathy: Time to Say Goodbye

What a great experience being a CEC blogger has been. I remember last year when I wandered on to the Council for Exceptional Children Web site to catch up on special education news, as I had just been hired as a job coach in the field. And I saw the call out for bloggers on Reality 101.

I had to fight back many excuses in my head about why I shouldn’t apply. Excuses like, “I love to write but my style is very conversational; maybe they want someone more academic sounding? I am just getting back into teaching and they are probably looking for someone young and fresh out of college. What if in my writing it is so obvious that I do not know what I am doing?”

I am happy to say I beat back those negative voices and applied to be a blogger. It was an honor to be selected. It was fun to see my writing for the first time on a national Web site! I enjoyed the many comments that would come in about a column I wrote. I felt connected to a much bigger community. I received good advice and encouragement from readers and was surprised when a reader would say they had received the same from my writing.