Richard: Working with the End in Mind

This weekend my mother graduated from Kaplan University with her Associates degree. As I was basking in proudness of my mother, my mind wandered to my students. While my students are only in middle school, I have started working with them on at least thinking about what they may want to do when they graduate from high school.

We started the year off with year-long goals and recently worked on long-term goals. They use a great Web resource, www.gacollege411.org to take interest and personality tests that are supposed to help guide them down the right path, as well as to research careers and the steps needed to reach their dreams.

As I was listening to the keynote speaker, Tony Dungy give a wonderful commencement speech, it hit me that my students aren’t expected to graduate. I became worried about their abilities to experience even a high school graduation.  Many EBD students will drop out as soon as they are able, others may flunk out, and a select few seem to make it all the way.

From there things get even more dismal in regards to post-secondary education. While I am, of course, an advocate for education at all levels, I try to make sure my kids know they don't have to go to a four-year college, that they have several options. 

I reflected on how realistic it is for my students to be planning to go to a typical college and succeed. Many of my students will always have behaviors that negatively impact their abilities in school; most are several years below grade level in reading and struggle with abstract math concepts.

I asked myself what I could do to help them at least make it through high school? How do you help a child like David, who only made it three days back in school before assaulting another student, getting suspended, getting in more trouble at home, and finally being sent back to the youth detention center? Or my female student, Keisha, who had a crisis last week in which the resource officer had to be called and the school placed on a lock down? Even my most well-behaved student is five years below reading level and cannot succeed in a highly structured environment if he isn’t taking his medications correctly.

Reflecting on that, the task of overcoming those challenges and making it to graduation seems daunting at best. I find myself feeling very pessimistic when thinking and planning with my students for their futures. I am saddened by the statistics that many won’t have the experience of a high school graduation, let alone a college graduation.

What success stories do you have with your students? How do you help yourself be optimistic and realistic while supporting them through the challenge of education?

Comments

[Louis Villaume]

I have worked with EBD for 20 years. I have many success stories. I also have many very sad stories. Try and get them to power and decision-making in their educational process. Find their learning styles and work with mainstream educators to utilize their stronger skills. Teach them through modeling respect. Give it and you will get it. Then work on social skills, relationship skills, and advocacy skills through your relationship. Dettach enough to stay healthy. A strong boundary is a good thing. Check out Richard Lavoie's work. Good luck!

[Valerie Music]

Richard Congrats to your mother! Try to keep your chin up. Keep in mind that you may be the brightest spot in many of your student's lifes.

[America Sandra Berry]

Am new to all this, as yet I am not in the classroom, but I praise all the work you do, my professor will hear about this blog. You truly believe in your students, if only we had someone like you in this rural area. You will be truly blessed.

[Wenhu wang]

What a great blog! |It's pretty lucky to find your webblog!|So great!|Nice post|nice to come across your blog||||||

[Minji]

I worked with a class of about 15 students-- about 5 of them with EBD (second and third graders) I focused on what they were good at. My most intense student (his IEP said he was a danger to himself and others, even with two other adults; 2:1 ratio, and here I had him with 14 other students with one I.A.), I tried to highlight that he was so physically coordinated and let him take lots of movement breaks. And let him have the spotlight when we had physical activities, and let him have a lot of the 'jobs' in the classroom that highlighted his coordination. One of my other more intense students with EBD, I gave him the 'job' of helping other students with computers because he was technically savvy. This was also used as an incentive. I highlighted with the group that he was so technologically saavy.

It is tough though. I needed a break after three years of working in this type of classroom. I began to get really pessimisstic. I am now working in a strictly LD classroom but my heart still goes out students with EBD. I understand how you feel because I am pretty big-picture, and future oriented.. and things seemed dismal according to the 'facts'. I appreciate your honesty on this blog.

I think the only way I lasted even three years was through lots of prayer and quality quiet times with my Bible before I went to work... even now, that's where a lot of my hope comes from.

[Ashley]

I work with a little boy that has autism and we are training for the up coming swimming specail olympics. He has to start at the deep end and swim to the 3 ft end and then turn around and get out of the pool. He doesn't like getting out of the pool after he has already been in, but the other day he got out of the pool in the deep end without having a melt down, and he sat waiting for his turn. While he was waiting he sat quietly with his legs crossed. This is a huge accomplishment for him and I was very excited!

[Bailey]

I am a reading tutor and I recently came across a child who is reading well below his grade level. His parents were shocked to hear his teacher say to them that "he will never go to college" because of his learning disability in reading. After one-on-one tutoring sessions in vocabulary and comprehension, both the student and his parents had gained confidence in the fact that he does have the chance to go to college, just like everyone else. They were even told by the director of the tutoring center that no one had ever given them hope that their child could and would be successful. I feel like although we must be realistic about a child's goals and future, we also need to provide the student with hope that they will succeed. If you as a teacher believe in your students are truly have hope for them, they will feel that support as well.