Kaylie: The Best Laid Plans Sometimes Fail...

Describing myself as a planner is a strong understatement. There should probably be a diagnosis for the extent to which I meticulously outline as many areas of my life as possible. It all boils down to a desire for control and to be “hyper-responsible” (a term I once read in article that fits me perfectly). My life, however, has recently shifted into high-gear and left me without enough hours in the day to plan my every waking moment, but what frustrates me to no end is that I feel I now have more things that NEED to be planned than ever!

At school, I’m planning weekly lessons, IEPs and their associated meetings, and a presentation at an upcoming conference. I also have taken on a night job teaching an introductory special education course at a local college, which begins this week. Outside of work there’s Sunday school lessons, activities for the youth group, and, last but not least, a wedding. Wow, I really need to transition to the next paragraph before I have a nervous breakdown!

Despite the current hectic nature of my life, I obviously always make time to write weekly lessons plans for my class. Do they get done the Thursday before like in the past? No way. But I always have my lesson plan book filled out and ready to roll by Monday. The first half of last week, I was really beginning to notice that my students, especially the new sixth graders, were settling in very well to the new school and classroom. All my students were doing well with our routine and classroom expectations, and the lessons and activities I had planned were being carried out. 

Thursday, however, was one of those days that you only survive by praying. I have two students in my class who face very difficult circumstances at home. As most teachers know, what happens at home doesn’t stay there; it affects the child at all times. On Thursday, it was as if both of these students were at their limit of what they could handle. Both were anxious, easily angered, and aggressive. This soon turned to non-compliance, verbal and physical outbursts, and arguments with other students. There were behavior specialists and case managers in and out of the room. My other ten students were obviously affected, as well. I feel like me and my assistants spent that school day just trying to reestablish peace in our classroom.

There was some improvement on Friday, but things were still not what I consider “back to normal.” When I was preparing lessons last weekend, I didn’t plan for Thursday and Friday to go like they did. I didn’t set aside time in the plan book for calling parents, talking one-on-one with my students who were having difficult days, or consulting with other professional about how to help my kids. 

To state the obvious, not all of my precious lesson plans were accomplished. By Friday afternoon, that was beginning to bother me. There were about 40 minutes of class time left before my students were going to enjoy a snack they had prepared earlier in the day as part of life skills instruction. I glanced at my plan book to inventory the things that had gone undone the past two days, but, oddly enough, none of them seemed very appealing to me.

Then a random idea popped into my head. We had been discussing a NASA space rover that recently landed on Mars all week in class and my students had drawn pictures of what they thought photos taken by the rover might look like. My idea was to get out my video camera and allow each student to come up in front of the class, share their drawings, and answer two interview questions: “What do you think the rover will see?” and “Why do you think it will see that?”

It was amazing! My students’ eyes lit up just listening to me explain the activity. They all gave their presentations, listened to each other, smiled at the camera, and applauded their fellow classmates. It was one of the most beautiful moments of my short teaching career thus far. I look forward to letting the students watch their videos and am sure I will be watching them again, too.

I have to share my favorite answers to the interview questions. One of my very talkative students showed his four drawings and explained that he thought the rover would see “lots of rockets and habitats on other planets with aliens.” When I asked why, he thought for a second and then responded very confidently, “Because it’s a fact.”

What did I learn from all of this? I can’t perfectly plan for days like Thursday and Friday. My students’ well-beings come before my lesson plans on those types of days. I also learned that sometimes the greatest moments are the unplanned ones, those times as a teacher when you just feel a nudge to veer off your lesson plans and share an amazing moment with your students. Sometimes my plans aren’t the best ones. I’m thankful for days like Thursday and Friday; it’s days like those that make me a better teacher, a better person, and remind me that I do have the best job ever.

Comments

[Chris Douglas]

The best plan that we thought to be the finale of all plans, sometimes turned out the way we didn't expect it to be. Buy anyway, what makes a plan succesful if we have extra strategies to cover up the failure ones.

[Anne]

Kaylie,
Thank you for writing this post! I am in the middle of my student teaching and feeling like most of my best laid plans are not working either for interruptions during the school day, behavior outburst from a student, and just bad planning on my part. Lucky I have back up plans that come into play and get the class through; but every time my heart sinks a little bit for not expecting it. In reflecting on where the glitch in the lesson occurred typically I can see that it was because of my lack of planning, explaining, or linking to past experiences. So far I have learn a lot and I am vey excited when I will have my own classroom and students that I will teach.

[Emily P.]

Kaylie-
I’m very grateful that you posted this, and it couldn’t have come at a better time! I am such a planner myself, and I have been known to schedule time to schedule time to plan a schedule. THAT is how crazy I can be. But hey, the first step is admitting it, right?
With so much pressure surrounding teachers, especially those in special education, to meet goals, objectives, standards, and not to mention the life skills our students need, we just don’t have enough time in the day!
I couldn’t have said it better myself- sometimes, your students’ well-beings are more important than a structured lesson plan. Sometimes, veering off the path you have laid makes way for a better path. Sometimes, the best outcomes can come from the most unexpected places. Students can learn the most from watching you be flexible and adaptable. They also learn best from real-life experiences and through the choices and consequences they make (or watch you make).
If there is anything that I have learned in my first week of student teaching, it is that, no matter how hard you plan, something will change. The only thing we can be certain of is that nothing is always certain. I am a planner, yes, but I have also developed an ability to be adaptable.
Thanks for sharing this, so I can refer back to it when I am having a very spontaneous, go-with-the-flow-or-be-run-over sort of day.

[Pamela Whyte]

I am a veteran teacher/administrator with many years working as a general ed inclusion teacher. I love reading your posts! They offer a great perspective to veteran teachers as well as new teachers. My whole classroom management philosophy is centered on planning. I offer a FREE weekly newsletter that offers practical classroom management strategies. Let me know what you think www.keyclassrooms.com

[Sabrina Hatten]

I am currently student teaching. I am a big planner as well. However, I have learned that "flex and flow" is the best motto. It is day 3 of school and my teacher and I are still trying to figure out schedules for the students who will be coming into our room during the day. This has proven to be noticed by other teachers, as well as the students who know they are coming into our room. Schedules are complicated the way it is in Special Education world. I am convinced they are harder this year because the school I am helping in just adopted a new reading plan, called "Actioni 100". Which meant at the very last minute, the whole school changed the schedules they tentatively had. Our world is upside-down. Our weeks are also on a schedule I have never seen- "A-day, B-day, C-day". Hopefully by tomorrow we will have our schedule complete. However, with 14 students who have special needs throughout the day, it gets a little tricky. We have to incorporate; DAPE, direct/indirect services, Para schedules, Physical Therapy, our lunch/break schedules etc. Hopeful thinking, I know. We will do our best.

[Hailey K]

Kaylie,
Thank you for your post, and like others commenting I am also a soon to be special education teacher finishing up school. I like to think of myself as a planner, but not nearly as planned out as you are! sometimes I think being so flexible is a blessing, and not always a curse. I think it is great how you have a relationship with your students and staff that gives you the insight on how to work around these hiccup days so well. I think that knowing not every day will go as planned, is a way of planning. And if you can be okay with changing the plan for the day, your students will be okay with it too. You did a wonderful job of making the day about your students and not your plan, something we can all learn from. I enjoyed your insight and post about this reoccurring situation that seems to be special education!

[Alley Chai]

I am a student teacher and, after a week of observing and becoming integrated into the classroom, I am about to teach my very first lesson. Like Kaylie, I too am a meticulous planner when it comes to my lessons. I plan and plan, then revise and plan some more. My lesson is based on the book, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle, and will include a power point that has the foods from Monday through Sunday as well as three number choices. I will have one student come up to the board to count the food items and then another to choose the correct number.

After the lesson, the students will get to choose a caterpillar or a butterfly to finger paint. The paint will be made with light corn syrup and food coloring. It is a great activity that allows students to be creative while communicating their color choices (IEP Goal: Learning color names and identifying colors).

The day following the lesson, the students will divide into small groups where they will match leaves that have hole punches in them (like a caterpillar ate through them) to the correct number.

I know, that while I have this all meticulously planned, the lesson may not go as planned, but that is one of the interesting parts to teaching. Sometimes it isn't about how much you plan, but about where the students take the lesson. As a teacher, you may have to veer off the course of the plan, allow students to dive deeper into some areas, or switch up parts that aren't making sense to the students. If a student is having problems at home, they will be having problems at school. It is about reading the students and allowing them to have some say in how the flow of the lesson goes.

[Kaylie]

Thanks to all of you for your comments. I have loved reading them! I'm especially excited to hear from the many future special education teachers. You are definitely about to embark on one of the most challenging professions ever, but it is also one of the most rewarding. No matter how "unplanned" a school day may be, I'm always ready to go back and teach my kids the next morning. You will definitely be blessed in your future jobs!

[Brittany]

I am a student teacher and tomorrow is the first day of school! I am nervous about what is going to happen and how the students will do with transitioning back to their school routines. I like to have planned what is going to happen in the lessons before I am going to teach them. I have in a practicum before had my cooperating teacher change something in the lesson I was going to teach minutes before I was going to be teaching that lesson to the students. She did have to step in and help guide me through a chunk of the changes and handle the students that behavior was disrupting. It is nice to have things planned out and if there is a change it is also nice to have a few minutes to think about them or have someone there to help you stumble through the ruff parts. The students loved the lesson that was taught and they learned so much about recycling and garbage! I guess I thought the lesson was horrible but looking at the students they enjoyed it and are able to identify what can be recycled!

[Avery]

I just started my first year of teaching and immediately noticed the importance of having a plan;however,the willingness to be flexible with the plan is also necessary. During this week I was able to see when I needed to do more physical activities to keep the students engaged and recognize the times when the students need breaks. Teaching is definitely a learning process.

[Kayla]

I can easily relate to this post and the excessive planning! I am currently a student majoring in special education and between my classes, homework, group work, student teaching preparation, work, and classroom field experiences I have most moments in my day planned out. I don’t know what I would do without my planner and calendar, both in my everyday life and the classroom. I have also experienced times in the classroom where all the planning in the world could not prepare me for what happens. During my classroom field experiences I have had many moments where I have had to ditch my lesson plans and come up with something new to be able to reach my students. My professors and my cooperating teachers have always expressed and demonstrated the importance of being able to veer from the lesson plans, just like you said. It would be nice to make a plan and stick to it, but we must be willing and prepared to forget our plans and make adjustments to meet the needs of the students. It is great to hear that your students did so well with the new activity! It is experiences like that that will help give us the confidence to look away from the plans and create activities and lessons (on the spot) that may benefit the students even more.
Thank you for your post!

[Alison]

Wow seems like you are very busy. It must get overwhelming sometimes. As a future teacher this was nice to hear how you dealt with the situation. I think that when I start teaching I will want to follow the lessons i had planned out. But being a special education teacher I know that its imperative to be flexible with all plans because as you stated many situations come up and its not possible to do what you have planned.

[Kristin]

WOW! You are one busy teacher! I know in my past field experience when I was trying to teach a math lesson my plan A-B-and C all failed because my students were all having an “off” day. So I did what you did and impromptu lesson and I somehow got a great response from all four of my students. I feel they learned more form the activity then they would have from my plan A-B or C. I think sometimes as teachers we forget that it is ok not to fallow our plans! You are doing great work!! Thank you for what you do!

[Chandra]

Kaylie:

As a new student teacher, I am going into the classroom knowing that things will not always go I have planned. In a profession where we are constantly working towards organization and over-preparedness, I think it is very important to remember that sometimes the unplanned events are the best times to learn. Both for you and the students you serve. These unplanned moments are what make me nervous as a teacher-to-be. It seems like you are really able to think on your feet and turn less than desirable moments into a learning opportunity! Keep up with the good work and try to get some RELAX time in. :)

[Kaylee]

I am also someone who likes to be pretty organized. I don't think I would qualify under IDEA for the diagnosis you are proposing, but I would be close. This post was such a great reminder for me. Yes, it is great to be organized and ready for the day; but we can't forget the big picture. I recently had a meeting that was all about remembering what your purpose is for teaching; and my purpose is to better the lives of my students. Sometimes this means taking a detour from my plan. Academics are important, but if the student's are not physically and emotionally feeling ok, then nothing productive will take place.

Thank you for this great reminder Kaylie!

[Liz]

I can not wait to have those moments. Which sounds odd but I am starting my student teaching journey and to know that sometimes spur of the moment is fine might just keep me sane. I keep thinking that even if I plan everything with my co-operating teacher something will go wrong and it will be my fault. Having your perspective and the understanding that even though things are a little rough sometimes, there is always a way to make the plans (and the unplanned) work for you and the betterment of your students helps calm some of the fears that keep cropping up.

[Jamie]

Thank you for reminding us all that flexibility is key and just because we don't accomplish everything we set out to, doesn't mean we have failed. It sounds like you may have accomplished more by veering off the beaten path for just a moment than you might have otherwise. As a future SPED teacher, I hope I can do the same in times like this. You inspire me. Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing your experiences with us!

[Brenna]

You are the busiest sped teacher that I know! But it sounds like you are doing a great job with your students and they are responding to your "spur of the moment" activities very well. Unplanned situations like this have always been one of my biggest fears - especially now that I am looking to finally become a licensed sped teacher within the next year. Your experience just proves how you just can't follow the same plan every single day. Every day brings on new challenges, just like every students brings new perspectives to the classroom. And you are definitely not the only one who feels like having a nervous breakdown every once in a while!

[Kari]

I found this to be touching because I am still going to school to become a special education teacher. There are so many times that our teachers explain to us that not everything will go as planned and we will have to come up with new ideas on the spot. It was nice to see this in action and even though it was an idea that popped into your head, your students loved it. It is eye opening that while teaching, it is acceptable and sometimes necessary to do things spur of the moment and not always follow a strict schedule. I also think it is important to always schedule for times when you will need to talk to students individually or anything else that may arise. This will make you as a teacher prepared and not feel like you are all out of sorts because there was not enough time to help/work with someone.

[John]

Great post, Kaylie! You summed up special education perfectly.