Enjoying your students

Hello — I am pleased to host CEC’s blog for new teachers for the month of November. I am Jane Humphrey from Kevil, KY. I recently retired from teaching Mild to Moderate students at Heath Middle School in W. Paducah, KY. Learning Disabilities (LD) is my passion and I earned BS and MA degrees in LD from Murray State University. I am also National Board Certified in Mild to Moderate Exceptional Children and Youth, Birth to 21. In addition, I was honored to be named CEC’s National Teacher of the Year in 2003. I have had many wonderful experiences in both my special education classroom and in collaboration classes with my colleagues. I am currently serving as a mentor to National Board Certified Teacher Candidates.

To get started, I have begun to make a list of things I wish people had told me when I first started teaching. I will continue to share this list as the month progresses. My very first recommendation is to ENJOY YOUR STUDENTS! I think that I was so worried about meeting the students’ needs, making sure that I was writing the lesson plans correctly, completing all of the paperwork, and pleasing the administrators that I might have forgotten why I chose to be there. So, every day, PLAN to enjoy your students. Show interest in their lives, their likes, their dislikes, their hobbies, their plans, etc. These things will not only help you understand their background but will better equip you to meet their needs. Your students will begin to bond with you and want to please you because they will sense that you care. And besides, enjoying your work will have a positive effect on both students and colleagues and make the workplace more pleasant for everyone.

I don’t mean to imply that teaching special education is always going to be fun, pleasant, and pie-in-the-sky. In fact, there are many complex issues that will be part of your daily routine. But don’t let them rob you of the joys of teaching. Building that relationship with your students and making sure that both of you are better off for being together that day will make your load — and theirs — so much easier.

Secondly, LOOK FOR HUMOR in difficult situations. This is another way of building that relationship with students. It may allow everyone to let off some steam and loosen up. Again, it may also work with your colleagues. Of course, humor must only be used when appropriate, but it is a great tension reliever. King Solomon advised that “a merry heart doeth good like a medicine.”

I have lots more to share and will focus my next post on some things you can do for yourselves. I invite your comments and questions and will be happy to respond.

Sincerely,

Jane H. Humphrey, NBCT 

Comments

[Jen K]

Thank you Jane,for such important reminders of why the children we teach are so important! As a candidate for Nat'l Board (ENS), I am happy to come across your expertise and enjoyment of the field of special education!

[Jane Humphrey]

There are commercial programs available for students to determine how their aptitudes, abilities, learning styles would match up with certain types of professions. Many schools employ these for all students to help them plan their career paths beginning in Middle School. Also, specifically for teacher aptitude, there is an excellent organization called Future Educators of America in conjunction with Phi Delta Kappa International. This club format provides the opportunity for high school students to be made aware of the profession and to determine if this would be a viable vocation. This organization is also being used to help recruit more students into preparing to become an educator. This organization is similar to the Future Teachers of America which was started by NEA prior to 1969. I would suggest that you contact high school guidance counselors for more info.

[Jane Humphrey]

Ideas for dealing with an ED student depends on the age of the student. A formal Behavior Plan(BP) should be developed to ascertain strenghts and needs and include a short list of expected behaviors and rewards or consequences. The BP must be developed by a multi-disciplinary team and include input from student. Some rewards are very simple to provide. One student only wanted to remain in the classroom with his peers. When he was not able to perform the expected behavior, we arranged for him to go to the principal until such time as he could gain control and return. That worked very well.

[Amy]

I would love to tips on dealing with ED behaviors...I have 1 student that loves to disrupt my class constantly...he is qualified under ED and is impossible to get any valid testing/work out of. If you have any advice,I'd love to hear it!!

[Paul Mehta]

I will eagerly wait for your "a list of things I wish people had told me when I first started teaching".

I wonder if you can provide me with a screening tool to help high school students identify whether they have an ability to excel in teaching vocation or attributes of a good teacher.