Reality 101: CEC's blog for new teachers

Charmelle: Having Your Voice Heard: A Trip to U.S. Department of Education

Last week, was a very busy and exciting week for me. I hope that everyone enjoyed their Teacher Appreciation Week and had the opportunity to celebrate Exceptional Children’s Week with their students. Aside, from indulging in the goodies at my school, I had a wonderful opportunity to participate in a round-table discussion at the U.S. Department of Education. Yes, it’s true the U.S. Department of Education. I was so very excited.

This is truly one of the many benefits of being an active member of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). I had recently received an e-mail from CEC inviting special education teachers in the Washington, D.C. area to participate in a “Reform in the Classroom: A Conversation with Educators of Exceptional Children” at the U.S. Department of Education. The invitation only allowed for 15 teachers to be recommended to participate. I immediately replied and hoped that I would receive a confirmation to attend and what a blessing it was when I did.

Charmelle: A Mid-Year Change

Unfortunately, sometimes life forces us to make decisions that are difficult and uncomfortable. I recently moved on from my previous school and started a new opportunity in February. It was tough to make the decision to leave my students and parents I had known and established such close relationships with for almost two years.

It was a situation that had been tormenting me for some time, but I was determined to make it work and exhaust all measures before walking away. There were lots of sleepless nights, tears, prayers, questioning of my career choices and exhausting the listening ears of many family members and friends. I finally made my choice to leave.

Charmelle: A Teacher’s Journey to Learning Self-Advocacy, Part Two

In my last post, I shared with you about my personal journey to self-advocacy and how it was not only a valuable skill for me, but a valuable skill for us to teach to our students. As special educators, we look to find ways to empower our students and encourage their growth every day.

The one skill that is sometimes unintentionally overlooked is self-determination. Self-determination is not only having the ability to self-direct one’s life but it encompasses many  skills, including making choices, problem solving, making decisions, setting and attaining goals, self-awareness, self-regulation, self-advocacy and self-efficacy (Wood, Karvonen, Test, Browder, & Algozzine, 2004).

Charmelle: A Teacher’s Journey to Learning Self-Advocacy, Part One

“Being yourself is the best thing that you can do for you and those around you.”-Anonymous

I have to agree with this quote and I think it speaks to the nature of self-advocacy. Many times our students with exceptionalities are faced with the challenge of feeling sad, confused, humiliated or even inferior for being considered different than their peers and needing support to be successful. So many of the students I work with resist asking for help and even accepting help in the general education classroom setting or within their communities because the thought of being ostracized is just too much of a burden to carry.

Charmelle: Trying to Avoid Burnout, Part One

I must say I love teaching and I truly feel that it is my calling to be a special education teacher. I enjoy the connection that I make with my students and having the opportunity to support them in being successful, but being a special educator can also be very challenging. Underneath all of the paperwork, deadlines, scheduled meetings, writing IEPs and lesson planning, I know so much more could be added to that list and it can become overwhelming, stressful and hectic. At times I feel like I’m performing my own juggling routine and sometimes wonder if I will learn how to better balance all of these tasks.

Charmelle: Reading—The Places You’ll Go

Dr. Seuss once said, “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” This quote truly resonates with me as I think about the needs of my students and their struggles in the area of reading.

Last year in my first year of teaching, I found it challenging to teach my students how to read. All my previous graduate coursework had prepared me to provide students with all of the strategies and tools to use when they were reading, but not so much on how to provide reading instruction. Like many special educators, I am committed to ensuring the growth and progress of my students. And just like Dr. Seuss’s quote I want to allow my students to read more and learn more so that the places they will go in life are limitless.

Charmelle: New Teacher Evaluations

It’s only my first week back with my new students and I have already managed to catch a cold. Sore throat, sniffles, and lots of coughing—what a way to start the new school year!

Aside from being under the weather, the year is in full swing with lots to do. Planning, scheduling of services and meetings, as well as getting to know my new students. Although my plate seems full already, I just received an e-mail this past weekend requesting my schedule for observations and teacher evaluations. Which leads me to open up the discussion about teacher evaluations and how they work in different districts and some of the challenges new teachers face during this process.

Charmelle: CCSS and Special Education?

It may seem strange that I am about to embark on the start of a new school year and I’m  already having thoughts about the end of the year testing. While it may seem that I am jumping a bit ahead of myself in the planning game, these thoughts were actually ignited from a workshop that I attended this week.

I was recently selected along with other educators throughout the District of Columbia to participate in a standard setting workshop for the city’s comprehensive end-of-the-year assessment for second grade because it has recently been added as a new testing grade.

Charmelle: Learning to Collaborate

As my summer vacation comes to a close, I anticipate returning to my classroom and my students for the upcoming school year. I have not just spent this time resting and relaxing, but reflecting. During my vacation, I examined some of the successes and challenges I faced through my first year as a special education teacher.

In my current position, I work as a resource teacher and support students with IEPs in the general education classrooms through co-teaching. The biggest challenge was collaboration with my colleagues in the general education classrooms. Of course, we could communicate with each other, but working together at times was difficult. It was hard for them to fully understand the benefit and purpose of my presence in the classroom, and I was often faced with the feeling that I was invading their territory or being viewed as an assistant, floating around the room to help out. Not, only was I the new teacher on the block, but now I wanted to be in their space and I was expected to teach with them.

Meet CEC's New Bloggers for the 2012–13 School Year!

Charmelle, Danielle, Kaylie, Jerry, and John are special and gifted educators, and they're excited to share the ins and outs, the ups and downs of the coming school year.

Charmelle is an elementary special education teacher who is busy balancing work, graduate school, and family life with a 2-year-old.

Danielle was a high school mathematics teacher, but has now spent the summer excitedly preparing for her new role as a K–12 gifted and talented coordinator.

Jerry takes on special education as a second career—and he’s ready to tackle his first full year of teaching.

John, following in his mom’s footsteps, decided to become a teacher. After switching his major to special education, he’s never looked back.

Kaylie has found her calling as a middle school special education teacher and couldn’t be happier.

Stay tuned for another dynamic and inspiring year at Reality 101! They kick off their blogging next week--don't miss a post!