Reality 101: CEC's blog for new teachers

Reality Check with Kathy: Three Years Ago I was Starting Over

Remember Kathy? She wrote for Reality 101 in 2009–10. Hailing from the Detroit area, Kathy now teaches life and vocational skills to young adults with autism and cognitive disabilities. Reality 101 is circling back with her for a Reality Check to get her perspective and sage advice for new teachers.

In 2009–10 when I was writing for Reality 101, I was a part-time job coach teaching custodial skills to 18–26 year-olds. Since then I have dusted off my teaching degree and have a full-time job teaching life and vocational skills to young adults with autism and cognitive disabillities in my local public school.

I’ve learned a lot in the last three years, and my experiences have provided me with the following list of tips to share with new teachers: 

Reality Check with Jennifer: Teaching a Teacher and Still Learning

Remember Jennifer? She wrote for Reality 101 in 2009–10. She's in her second year of teaching kindergartners with various disabilities in Pasadena, Calif. Reality 101 is circling back with her for a Reality Check to get her perspective and sage advice for new teachers.

One of the best things about special education is that when someone asks you to write about things that have changed in your teaching career, you can honestly say things are just as exciting, interesting, new, challenging, and, occasionally, as daunting as ever. While I feel stronger as a professional, that I have a greater sense of “ownership” in my classroom, and am more experienced when making decisions for my students, I am still always learning, always questioning, and always surprised by what each day brings.

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.

Kathy: Mother/Daughter Job Hunting

I find myself in a new chapter of my special education career:  I’m an Unemployed Teacher. I was laid off and now am looking full time for a full-time teaching job.  What an eye-opening experience the application process has been! I got my previous job through connections I had with the school. It was painless and easy. 

The first thing I learned to do is use a job search site. I am getting most of my leads from www.indeed.com and www.K12jobspot.com. CEC’s job board, www.specialedcareers.org, also is helpful because it is the only board dedicated to special education jobs. I also look up the employment opportunities on a specific school district Web site, for example Lakeshore Public Schools. Then I apply to anything that I am qualified to teach within a 50-mile radius of my house. 

When I was applying for my first teaching job back in The Dark Ages, you sent a résumé and cover letter to the school you were interested in. Then, you followed up with a phone call or visit.

Jennifer: Relaxed Learning

With the chaos of the year behind me and the start of summer school complete, a surprising wave of relaxation has taken over. In preparation for summer school I had been nervously gathering materials and planning through my days, anxious about a new group of students whose skills and interests were foreign to me.

It has been a complete week, and so far it seems that all of my frantic bracing for the unknown was all for nothing. Summer school is such a breeze! I say that enthusiastically because up until this point summer school has always been difficult from the first day to the very last.

Last year I ran summer school much like I did my classroom. We had our daily schedule which we adhered to as much as possible, we had lots of academic tasks that needed to be finished in almost the same order that I had been completing them during the year, and because last year I actually did have the students I had during the school year, I was simply continuing on from where we left off.

Jennifer: A New Balance

Balancing work life with personal life certainly felt a whole lot more doable when my personal life was lacking extreme activity. I haven’t been writing as much as I’d like to lately because my personal life suddenly became a little out of control. I haven’t had enough time to really write, so by the time I finally get a moment to jot my thoughts down, shortening them into bite-size posts has been so difficult that I am currently staring at two drafts sadly begging for closure on my desktop.

The craziness didn’t just happen all at once, but slowly built up while I wasn’t paying attention. It was when I was recently sitting right in the middle of a massive, and I mean massive, pile of materials—a collection of current and that which has been passed down from a very, very long time ago—that I realized it had happened:  I had officially lost control.

I had previously thought this career choice somehow trained me to protect myself from that suffocating, overwhelming feeling that I was Never-Gonna-Get-Anything-Finished-How-in-the-World-Will-I-Get-This-Mess-Organized panic that has been causing me to recently forget everything up until just five seconds prior to each conscious moment. I was wrong, and I still can’t find my keys.

Kathy: Having Students Speak for Themselves

There is one session from the CEC 2010 Convention & Expo that has so inspired me: “Project My Voice” is about helping young adult students make a video about themselves. It gives them the opportunity to show what they can do, what they like and what they dream of doing in the future. 

I love how it was presented.  The speaker has a sister who has special needs.  She started by telling us about her sister.  Then she showed us the video of her sister.  I was amazed at what I learned about this special person that words could not capture. 

One scene is of the young woman playing cards, but you soon realize that she looks at the cards before dealing them and gives all the best cards to one special player.  Think about what skills that requires!  I had underestimated this young woman. 

Jennifer: Discovering DISES

I have to admit, it has been a little difficult to write about the CEC convention after looking at pictures of the flooding back in Nashville. With my own camera I took light- and people-filled photos of the Gaylord Opryland identical to those now captured by various news outlets and YouTube clips, showing the water that has overtaken the grounds. It is altogether heartbreaking and so eerie to think that less than two weeks ago, we were all together seeing old friends, making new ones, and having a fantastic time.

I have incredibly fond memories of this year’s conference. I learned so many new things and was introduced to a wide array of opportunities to grow that I had not previously known of. One of the eye-opening presentations that I attended was for and by CEC’s Division of International Special Education and Services (DISES), entitled “Becoming International.” I am embarrassed to say I had no idea that DISES existed before—a good reminder to get the most out of my CEC membership by investigating everything available to me (they didn’t tell me to say that, I promise…).

Reality 101 Bloggers Take on CEC 2010

Reality 101 bloggers Ellen, Kathy, and Jennifer pose for a group photo at the CEC 2010 Convention & Expo in Nashville. It was the first time they had met in person! Blogger Katie's presence was certainly missed.

Jennifer: We’re Not Going Anywhere

Last week I had the opportunity to attend the CEC 2010 Convention & Expo in Nashville. Along with fellow bloggers Kathy and Ellen, I spoke a little about what my class looks like and how it works, and was able to share some of my favorite blog entries.

Typically I find that conferences are good for making connections and gaining new insights and information regarding our careers. But this time, the conference doubled as a support group and strong reaffirmation that no matter what is happening in our government, no matter how many pink slips are given out, no matter how many meetings we have to endure just to continue to serve our students and families, we are still here. Special educators are not going anywhere.

There were more than 6,000 people in attendance. I met new teachers who were just interning or completing their student teaching, teachers who had been in the field for 10 years, and teachers who had retired but were returning to the field because they felt pulled back to their calling, their passion. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan keynoted the Opening General Session, emphasizing the importance of education to a nation if it wants to thrive, and how each of our students deserves a “world-class education.” What a force we teachers are.

Ellen: The CEC Convention and My Rapid Metamorphosis

I second Kathy’s “WOW” about our experiences at the CEC 2010 Convention & Expo in Nashville.

The last time I was at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel (which, as Kathy described, is an incredible experience in and of itself!) I got lost while chaperoning teenagers with autism at their senior prom. I was a graduate student at Vanderbilt and my colleagues at Project Opportunity, a job-training program for secondary students with intellectual disabilities, went all-out to ensure two of our students could have a SPECTACULAR (if overwhelming for all three of us) prom experience.

Fast forward more than four years, and I found myself again among the vast beauty of the Gaylord Opryland, only this time as an actual special educator and hotel guest—woah, what a relaxing break from a stressful time of year at school!.

Kathy: W.O.W. (Wonderful, Outstanding, Worthwhile)

I am waiting for my flight out of Nashville after attending the CEC 2010 Convention & Expo. I have a couple of hours here to sort out my many experiences. I will try not to use the world "wow" too many times, but seriously, WOW!

First of all, it is big. There were more than 6,000 people in attendance. The sessions were so numerous, there is no way I could go to everything that sounded interesting. It took me three separate visits to the Expo Hall to cover all the booths.

Then there was the venue, the Gaylord Opryland Hotel & Convention Center.....WOW! (sorry, I couldn't help myself). It has more than 4,000 rooms, many restaurants, shops, a river running through it, tropical plants, waterfalls, and a conservatory. The venue was a bit tough on us directionally challenged folks, but I spent much of the time happily lost in the beautiful spaces.

Bloggers Appearing Today and Tomorrow at CEC 2010

You’ve been following them all year -- now you can meet them face-to-face! If you're in Nashville this week for the CEC 2010 Convention & Expo, come see our bloggers as they read some of their favorite posts from the 2009-2010 school year and share what it’s like to be new to the field.

When: Thursday, April 22, 2 p.m. and Friday, April 23, 11 a.m.

Where: CEC Store (located in the Expo Hall), Gaylord Opryland Hotel & Convention Center, Nashville

Jennifer: Taking Time to Make Mistakes

Recently I have been feeling somewhat overwhelmed at work. My one class has split into five different programs just to meet everyone’s needs, and it has become much too easy to get caught up in lesson planning and assessments and forget my basic roles as a teacher.

I’ve been coming home stressed, always with a million things on my mind. I’ve tried to keep that stress out of my classroom, but it hasn’t been easy. With testing season coming up, I want to make sure I squeeze in all the lessons that I have planned. I realized that my students have been feeling overwhelmed too, and I know it is because my teaching is either too fast or too much. But with everything that needs to get done, it has been difficult to figure out where to make changes to our schedule.

I am currently taking courses to complete a second credential, and last week one of my classmates shared a story that inadvertently helped me put my whole “rushing” problem into perspective. She told about a time when she and her master teacher watched a little girl drop her cookie in the dirt during lunch. The student came over and asked if she could go wash it off. My classmate almost said “no” and for her to get her back to her seat, but the master teacher stopped her and told the little girl to go ahead.

Ellen: Dressing for Success

Since I’ve been back on the job market, I have received conflicting advice regarding appropriate attire for an interview for a teaching position.

“Suit. Wear a suit.”

I’m getting that a lot. That is the general advice on the internet and from some administrative colleagues. I agree that women look extremely professional in suits.

That problem is that I am 5 feet tall. I look like a weird monkey playing dress-up in a suit. Actually, I have never worn one — at least, not out of the dressing room. I have never even come close to finding a suit that remotely approximates a collected outfit appropriate for my shape.

Clearly, there is a lot to be said for suits. For how many of you readers is a suit the be-all and end-all of interview attire?

Kathy: Our Own “Dancing with the Stars”

Thursday night was our spring dance. It’s a pretty casual affair; it’s held at a golf club near school, which is also one of the job sites for our students. One of our teacher’s husbands, who happens to be a disc jockey, spins the tunes for us and has a good pulse on what the students want music-wise. Not everyone comes but it is well attended.
 
What a blast! Watching these kids dance is pure pleasure. They just let themselves go. They dance alone, with staff members, with same-sex partners, and with “dates.” More than once I witnessed two people dancing together and, upon realizing that someone else had no partner, grabbing his or her hand so all three could dance together. I saw a student go through the extra effort to get a classmate who uses a walker up and out on the floor. I found these acts to be just the sweetest things.

Jennifer: Pink Slip

I am usually pretty inspired by my job. I get ideas for worksheets to make and lessons to plan, and most of the time my school day yields very uplifting and motivating side effects. Recently, though, the days have gotten more and more stressful, and what little motivation I have had has been channeled into writing my congressman.

As I wrote earlier, I came to my new district pretty late in the year. People at my old job urged me to make sure that my new teaching home is secure and stable, so that I wouldn’t get into any “unfortunate circumstances” down the line. Being the absolute last hire, I naively relied on the comfort of being in special education as a form of job security. I had never gotten a pink slip before; my old district was somehow able to protect me from the back and forth between the union, teachers, and the district, basically shielding me from the anguish that some of my friends were going through. I attended a couple of union meetings and, while I felt compassion for my co-workers, I never really understood what was going on there because I wasn’t “in it.”

This year has been the exact opposite experience. Needless to say, the pink slip arrived, and my warm welcome into educational politics was extended. I just feel SO unprepared for this. There are so many rules about what can be said, who can know what, who can ask questions and when, and so on. I haven’t been able to find any written rules for this whole thing, so I’m learning as I go.

"Reality 101" Bloggers To Appear at CEC 2010

You’ve been following them all year -- now you can meet them face-to-face! The "Reality 101" bloggers will be making special appearances at the CEC 2010 Convention & Expo, taking place April 21-24 in Nashville.

Come see our bloggers as they read some of their favorite posts from the 2009-2010 school year and share what it’s like to be new to the field. They’ve had successes and challenges, ups and downs . . . but no matter what, their stories showcase just how rewarding a career in special education can be.

Who: Bloggers from “Reality 101,” CEC’s blog for new teachers

When: Thursday, April 22, 2 p.m. and Friday, April 23, 11 a.m.

Where: CEC Store (located in the Expo Hall), Gaylord Opryland Hotel & Convention Center, Nashville

Click here to find out more about this year's convention -- the largest professional development event dedicated to special and gifted education.

Ellen: 50% in Five Years

That’s the big statistic: According to the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, 50 percent of new teachers in the United States will leave the teaching profession within their first five years.

People like to quote such numbers, I’ve found, and you’ve probably heard it before too. Mostly people who aren’t teachers themselves. Usually people without a solution: complainers, finger-pointers, fire-and-brimstone-invokers who aren’t big fans of our public education system. Or media outlets who like to fan the flames.

But today I quoted that statistic to my principal, when I handed in my intent form for next year. Fifty percent of new teachers leave the profession within five years.

I don’t want to be one of them.

Jennifer: Good Bet

I don’t typically start off a blog entry with a poker tournament flashback (because up until 24 hours ago I had nothing to flash back to), but here it goes.

Last night I had the privilege of attending a charity poker tournament to raise money for Conductive Education, more specifically, ConductAbility Inc., which is a program I have been working alongside in my classroom this year. I thought it would be a fun chance to meet people and share some stories, as well as a good opportunity to really “grasp the rules” of Texas Hold ‘Em.

So there I was at 8 p.m., sitting at a small table with very, very large men who could shuffle their chips in one hand without looking while I just stared at mine and felt the dreadful realization of what I was in for slowly wash over me. I knew I was in trouble when the first question out of the guy across from me was, “So what number tournament is this for you?” Um… does “number one” sound intimidating enough? I thought he must be kidding.

Kathy: Are WE ready for Our Students to Date?

I work with 18-to-26 year-old students. And what do most young adults spend much of their time thinking about? That’s right, the opposite sex.

My students, who have mild disabilities, are no different. One young man has a crush on one of the young ladies in our school. They started “dating.” Then one day, he came to school crying and told me that his parents did not feel he was ready to date. I thought to myself, maybe his parents are not ready for their child to date.

But I noticed that within a couple of days, their “dating” behavior returned. Our administrator has tried to ban any PDA (public displays of affection)—notice the verb “tried.” Ready or not, parents and teachers, these young adults are entering the dating phase.

Here is what I have observed from my own daughter with special needs, as well as my students. They want to be like their peers; they want to be able to say they have a boyfriend or girlfriend. And it is important to find out what exactly that means to them.

Ellen: Student/Child/Boy/Girl/Son/Daughter/Man/Woman/PEOPLE with Disabilities

Last week I read two articles in Time and People magazines that referred to individuals with Down syndrome as “Downs,” “Downs syndrome kids,” and even “the disabled.” Say what you will about the quality of my personal magazine subscriptions, but do a search for “the disabled” on the Washington Post or the New York Times Web sites and see how much it pops up. It’s everywhere.

Today, March 3, happens to be the official awareness day of the Special Olympics’ nationwide campaign to discontinue derogatory use of the “r-word” and promote acceptance of people with intellectual disabilities. I encourage all of you to pledge your support at www.r-word.org.

Media outlets have been stepping all over themselves recently trying to report on this campaign, the “Family Guy” vs. Sarah Palin incident, and Rahm Emanuel’s misstep. As tasty as those stories are, I wish journalists would slow down their mouths and fingers long enough to process the actual language they use to describe people with disabilities. While the word “retard” certainly occurs in public discourse much more often than it should, it is indicative of a much larger and more widespread problem.

Jennifer: Learners Seeing Learners

When I started my new job last fall, I needed to obtain a second credential in order to meet my students’ needs (well, and California’s…). I took one course on reading instruction, and the professor always emphasized the importance of students being able to “see themselves as readers.”

Day in and day out, I think about that as I encourage my students to read in groups, together as a class, and even when they work together using their various forms of communication to complete a task. Some of them are excellent readers, while others need consistent prompting. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out how in the world to get my struggling students to “see themselves as readers” when it takes so much motivation and encouragement to even get them to try to read.

I’ve realized that before they see themselves as readers, they need to see themselves as learners.

Katie: Laptops and Webcams and SMART Boards – Oh My!

I remember being in grade school and getting that coveted computer time. Twenty minutes to sit in front of a big, bulky, black-and-white screened machine that was noisy and slow. We would play Oregon Trail, using the keyboard to move our digitized covered wagon (or at least that’s what it was supposed to look like) across the screen. I was enthralled by this technology and loved when I earned the time to use it.

My, how times have changed! Young children are now surrounded by technology, and they know how to use it. Gaming systems, MP3 Players, CD players, computers—and how many kids do you see walking around with cell phones?! Meanwhile, I fondly remember my own cassette tape player and thought I was so cool in eighth grade with my pager.

My preschoolers are able to manage this technology with ease, even upon their first introduction to it. This was evident last week when we brought in a digital camera and laptop with a webcam for the kiddos to use (I know, what were we thinking?). The children did remarkably well—right away they picked up on how to aim the camera while looking at the screen and push the button to snap a shot of a friend. (I wouldn’t say they will be having a gallery showing anytime soon, but some people might see free expression in the heads chopped off of every picture.)

Kathy: My Work with Emotional Disabilities – Then and Now

When I was in college, a hundred years ago, my plan was to get a regular elementary teaching degree and endorsements in what was referred to back then as M.I. (mentally impaired) and E.I. (emotionally impaired).

Everything went swimmingly until it came time for E.I. student teaching. I was assigned to a middle-school class of seven boys with emotional disabilities. Every day was a struggle. I would go home exhausted and in tears. Emotional problems seemed so complex and depressing to me.

About three weeks into the semester, I reached the breaking point when one of the boys went home and committed suicide. I quit and never completed my student teaching for the E.I. endorsement. I decided there was a special place in heaven for those wonderful folks who worked with students with emotional impairments—and I just wasn’t one of them.

Jennifer: All-or-Nothing Teaching

When I first began teaching, I thought I would lose 15 pounds the first week. I figured I was getting enough exercise with all that moving around, so I put the gym off to the side and would only go when I could devote a full hour. Even if I had 30 minutes, I would just say “I’ll go when I can get a real workout” and again delay my gym date.

The result of my “all or nothing” attitude was actually an EXTRA 10 pounds by the end of the year. No joke. I am writing about this not to drum up support for my love of anything baked—especially  chocolate chip cookies—or in hopes of finding someone to commiserate with, but because I have recently found that the “all or nothing” approach that was so detrimental to my exercise habits has recently snuck its way into my teaching as well.

At the end of each week, I review the lessons that were planned and those that were never completed. I recently discovered that the list of lessons completed was much shorter than that of those waiting to be learned. At first I just thought it was because we move at a much slower pace . . . but I feel like that perspective essentially blames the students for how far we get. My students go at the pace that I set, move to the schedule I have put together. The problem was not in their learning needs, but rather in the fact that I would only teach certain subjects if we had at least a full 40 minutes to dedicate to them.

Ellen: Stir-Crazy

It is my sixth day of being snowed in at my parents’ house in northern Virginia. I was smart enough to make my way over here before “snowmageddon” hit, so I’ve got my sister and my parents for company, plus some nice meals and a much lower chance of frozen pipes than in my apartment, which is in a 250-year-old historic building!

My two cats came with me and are pretty much in heaven with access to more windows, more napping spots, and more people to manipulate. They’re not really impressed by the snow, but at this point, who is?

As it’s been a week since I’ve seen my students, I’m starting to miss Room 127, where Miss Ellen reigns. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for the break. But my cats are getting to be a little much. 



Cats are not people (shocking, I know, but try telling them that . . .). Otherwise I’d have to refer to them in people/cat-first language: Mae as “my cat with a serious attachment disorder and fear of machines” and Shirley as “my cat with sociopathic tendencies and chronic narcissism.” Instead, let’s just say that Mae is generally a one-person cat who hates loud noises and Shirley is . . . a girl who knows what she wants.

Kathy: Winter Blues

Let’s see, what to write? Well, it is February in Michigan. Those who live in Michigan would not need me to write anything more; they would just nod and know exactly what I meant. But for the rest of you, it’s grey . . . VERY grey, it’s cold, and it’s getting a little old!

My new semester has begun, which means new students. Our young adults (ages 18 to 26 with disabilities) are assigned to job sites typically for one semester at a time and switch to a different site every semester. Our students spend half the day on the job with a job coach (like me) and the other half at school taking classes that are geared toward independent living.

My group is In-House Custodial, fancy for “we stay at school and clean it.” I am assigned students who are new, are not ready to go out to other sites, or are difficult to place for one reason or another. I also take on stragglers who arrive at school late and have missed their ride to their normal job site.

Jennifer: A Byproduct of Budget Cuts

I have to admit, although I am overjoyed at my new job and absolutely love my work, the looming discussion of budget cuts is making me a nervous wreck. It has definitely affected me, not only in how much money I’ve been putting away lately and how much spending I have personally cut back on, but in the decisions I make for my class as well.

Last summer, I spoke with so many teachers who had gotten pink-slipped. They all had thousands and thousands of dollars’ worth of learning materials stored away in their garages—materials they had purchased themselves. Some of those teachers were unable to find jobs again or changed careers altogether; of the ones who were lucky enough to find new employment, some were unable to get the same placement or grade level as before and had to go out and buy all new stuff. Granted, most districts supply their teachers with money to help them supplement curriculum materials, but the budgets aren’t necessarily huge and sometimes teachers are forced to go way out of their way and wallet to get materials that their students really need.

Kathy: How My Job Has Changed Me

 

My new job sure has changed me.

First, a little history. I was home raising my children for quite a while; my last full-time teaching  position was in 1984. I did some part-time work in between but mostly was at home. I have a 25-year-old son, 23-year-old daughter, and 13-year-old son. I was married for 25 years when my husband decided a young woman from work looked better to him. I was devastated, to say the least. I had to sell the house, help the kids through the trauma, and finally get a job. So at 51, here I am, returning to the workforce.

The job has changed me because I realize “I can do it!” For starters, I have much experience with children and my own daughter with disabilities. And even though my formal education took place years ago, I remember more than I thought I would.

I still love to learn and am catching up on the many changes that have since occurred in the field of special education. I love the CEC SmartBrief that is delivered daily to my e-mail inbox. I have even printed out some articles to keep in my files for future ideas. I ask questions, lots of questions. As an “older” educator I don’t mind questioning the system. As a parent myself I can relate to the parents of my students.

Jennifer: Real-Life Learning

When I am teaching, it is usually easy to break down topics into bite-sized pieces that my students can understand. Reading, for example, is relatively simple to break down once I recognize which sounds or blends are giving them trouble. And math is fun because, once I figure out which step is challenging them, I can pull out that one step and come up with all sorts of games and activities to focus on it until my students are ready to pick up the math program where they left off.

But then there is science . . . yikes. My students have been learning about atoms, elements, compounds, the whole shebang. We read the book chapters together, we studied the parts, we conducted the experiments, we tested the vocabulary. But after two weeks, my students still looked right through me. I would ask them what an atom is, and a couple of them would try to explain to me that it is a man in the Bible. No joke.

Katie: Easing Transitions

With the new semester comes a new challenge: looming transitions. Next fall my students, both the children with autism and those without, will move on to another preschool program or to Kindergarten, depending on need (I wish we could keep them forever!).

This is a difficult transition for any family, I think. All parents want their children to thrive in their education and be prepared for their future. My goal is to assist all my parents in making the best decision for their child and family. Of course, having a child with an exceptionality makes this decision all the more challenging.

I want to make sure that I am doing all I can to provide parents with useful information and help guide them through the decision-making process. How best to do this? I’d like to ask all of you for guidance as I embark on my own decision-making process.

Ellen: Overwhelmed

She told me

once that the
year she went
to England
she painted
all her buttons
yellow so
she would remember
what the
sun felt like.

(Brian Andreas)

This is my third year as a teacher of young students with cognitive disabilities and it has been the toughest one by far. Not the teaching part—I love sharing in the learning process and helping my students make discoveries about themselves, their environment, and so much more. It’s the “everything else” part that’s so tough.

I’m not even talking about writing IEPs. I’m not going to say it’s my most preferred activity (the computer program we have here in Virginia makes it arduous sometimes), but I know that I’m doing it to shape my students’ entire learning trajectory in a powerful way. Some of the plans come together like lovingly made mittens at this point and it’s very satisfying.

I’m drained by the politics. Not petty lunchroom stuff, but top-down stuff. I’m frustrated by what I perceive to be a lack of accountability for teachers who aren’t making things work and a lack of support for teachers who are. It’s difficult for me to be an advocate for my students when I feel that my school’s practices are sometimes not in their best interests.

Jennifer: The Effect of a Single Teacher

I originally had an entirely different blog in mind, but just like in special education, life has its way of forcing us to be flexible, especially in unfortunate circumstances.

Early this week I was informed that a professor who mentored me through my credential and master’s program—and beyond—had passed away. I was amazed at the effect this had on me, and I have come to realize that if there is anything to encourage a teacher to stay positive and passionate no matter what, it is the example set by a single teacher who did just that.

Jeanne was a tremendous life force to so many people. Always on the cutting edge of research and technology’s impact on education, she was involved in projects that improved the lives of children with disabilities while simultaneously and enthusiastically teaching and inspiring us to do the same. She was the kind of person who did not just visit us and teach us because it was what she was paid to do…it was her passion. She took us under her wing and shared everything she could with us. She gave us her love for this field.

Jennifer: Report Card Season

Report card season is here again. Is it strange that I’m as nervous about it as I was when I was the person receiving one?

I’ve always felt guilty about sending home report cards, and I never understood exactly why special educators needed to fill out the exact same report cards as general educators. I’m not referring to the goal progress reports, but the actual report card form that accompanies them.

I feel that when a student who receives special education services (particularly in a moderate/severe setting) is graded on grade-level curriculum, it can appear that he or she isn’t making any progress. As an educator, it’s hard to give low scores when you know how much hard work is going toward building the student’s skills. I’ve always felt like I needed to strike a delicate balance when reporting to parents of students in special education; in spite of the lower academics or scores, I still want them to feel encouraged by what their children are achieving overall.

Ellen: Leaving the Kids at School

As a new teacher, one thing that was hard for me at first was my tendency to take school home with me. It’s inevitable to be preoccupied with your job sometimes, but I was engulfed.

Part of the problem was that I went straight from high school to college to graduate school right back to elementary school again as a teacher; school has been my schema since I was a baby. There’s also the fact that I never really literally leave work at work, because all teachers have more to do than can be done in the hours they’re paid to do it in, so stuff just gets done at home.

There was more to my inability to leave work at work, though. I simply didn’t let go of the thoughts of my students when I locked up my classroom at the end of the day. They didn’t go away when I closed my computer, sat down to dinner with a friend, or went to the grocery store. … In the busy moments and the still moments, my students from that first class were with me wherever I was.

Kathy: Help!

Our school just announced another round of budget cuts. This round was deep and we are still smarting from it. Teachers with master’s degrees have taken a $5,000 pay cut. Classroom budgets were slashed from $1,000 to $500 each (we purchase all our own materials and prepare our own curriculum). All professional development has been frozen.

My boss, the job coach coordinator, had her schedule cut to three days a week at a loss of 40% of her salary. She is the glue that holds 20 job coaches and their training sites together. Our principal now works only four days a week and I am assuming she took a 20% pay cut. One office staff person lost a day a week as well. The job coaches—that’s me—also had their day shortened, mine by one half-hour (we are paid an hourly rate). All staff must be out of the building by 4 p.m. to save on electricity. There are other smaller cuts as well.

Jennifer: Christmas Came Early This Year

Just when I thought I had everything under control, I got an unexpected Christmas present . . . a new student. This messes everything up: all my scheduling, all the lessons and groupings. It even screws up our recess and lunch, but I could not possibly be any happier. I’ve learned to love it when this happens; it’s like a fresh start.

Maybe it was about time to scrap the old schedule anyway, and maybe this is a chance to see necessary improvements that we would not have considered otherwise. Honestly, this student is going to need our help BIG time if we are going to meet her goals. She not only has academic goals, but also major behavior goals that are really cutting into our lessons right now. But my class is being fantastic about it and I’ve never seen a group work together and encourage each other the way they have these past two weeks. It’s an amazing thing to see.

Ellen: What Can We Expect from Ourselves, from Our Administration?

Some days, doing "the best we can” may still fall short of what we would like to be able to do, but life isn't perfect on any front — and doing what we can with what we have is the most we should expect of ourselves or anyone else.

—Mr. Fred Rogers

I believe in the capacity of students to learn and progress and be valuable members of the communities. I’m talking about students who are, for the most part, written off or ignored by even my large, progressive county with many resources. I believe in them, I champion them, and I help them succeed one day, one hour, one step at a time. I do my best.

I love these children. As you have probably learned by now, I am hard on myself when things don’t work for them, or between me and the other professionals who support them, in the way I want them to.

Katie: In Praise of Parents

As we approach the middle of the school year and the holiday season, I am reminded of how lucky I am to be a first-year teacher working with the BEST parents in the world! Throughout my coursework and interactions with other professionals I have heard many generalized complaints about parents and either their “lack of caring” or their over-eager “meddling.” However, I have been blessed to spend my first year as lead teacher with a group of parents who are open-minded, laid-back, appreciative, and friendly.

I was fortunate enough to enter this new frontier of lead teaching already having established a relationship with the parents in my classroom and the parents from the second-year classroom where I am now placed. This made for a smooth transition as I took on my new position and responsibility (and stress).

The parents were patient and understanding as I figured out what exactly I was doing with and for their children and families. When I was noticeably stressed they encouraged me in subtle ways to let me know that I was doing well. They would take the time to talk to me, ask me how I was doing, and let me know they were happy with me becoming the second-year lead teacher.

Jennifer: Mission: Literacy

Reading instruction and assessments have been at the forefront of my mind lately. I am currently taking a course for a second credential specific to the various methods of reading instruction, including read-alouds, shared reading, literacy circles, and so on. This is a repeat class for me because my units from one university didn’t carry over. I got an A in it the first time, so I thought it would be a piece of cake. I was so wrong.

When we take the quizzes on what each lesson structure is, I get a good grade . . . no sweat. But when I go into detail about how I actually use the different methods in my classrooms, the “alterations” that are necessary to meet the needs of my kids either cause huge confusion or deviate from the structure so much that, really, I’m just teaching reading my own way. But what else can I do? My students have needs that require changes to be made.

For example, for Shared Reading Instruction and Guided Reading, I need to do everything digitally. I have to make PowerPoint/KeyNote presentations in order to help my students focus on the front of the room and be able read the text. For some of my students, text that is too close requires more movement to scan, which requires more muscle control, which takes away from focus and comprehension of the text altogether. Also, our “Word Wall” is done the same way so I can also put it on my students’ computers and make frequent changes.

Kathy: A Special Part of My Story

I have a daughter with special needs. Those words are so easy to write, but they were so hard to accept.

Dana lagged behind other children her age; the doctor called it “delayed milestones.” I hoped that she was just a late bloomer. Starting school was a nightmare for both of us. She was shy and scared and did not participate. She just wanted to be left alone in a corner and talk to herself.

I worked hard with her, trying to catch her up to her peers. Every year teachers would raise concerns and I would work even harder. Eventually she was tested and we discovered her IQ was below normal. I decided I wasn’t going to let a test dictate what my daughter could do. She was behind her peers, but not enough to qualify for special education. One school psychologist even tried to label her as ADD (which she is not) just to get her special education services. I did not appreciate this gesture. I was so afraid of a label defining my child.

Katie: My IEP Pet Peeves

I…E...P…dundundun! These are three often intimidating letters for students, parents, and (new) teachers. IEPs are supposed to help our students make individual gains. However, I am starting to find that many schools’ faculty are creating and implementing these individualized tools for an assortment of inappropriate reasons.

Through my coursework (which included a class called IFSP/IEP Development for Young Children) I have learned that IEPs are to follow some general rules:

• Goals should be developed for Tier III needs (those that require specific systematic intervention).
• Skills that are newly introduced in the general curriculum or skills that same-age peers may struggle with due to age appropriate difficulties should not be targeted unless specific adaptations and modifications will be used in intervention. 
• Goals should follow a logical sequence according to the hierarchical manner in which they are to be learned.
• Goals should aim to assist students in their academic, social, and functional skills as appropriately needed.
• Parents should be involved with development and decision making and must be able to understand what is on the IEP.
• Goals should be INDIVIDUALIZED.

Ellen: A Bittersweet Goodbye

I recently shared about a student in my classroom who displays serious aggression toward me. I had offered many suggestions for appropriate supports to make our setting work for this student. After months of feeling unheard, staffing shortages suddenly spurred a response. I think there was also pressure from some administrators at the county level who became aware of the situation inadvertently from another teacher at my school.
 
A whirlwind Functional Behavior Assessment and Behavior Intervention Plan process followed and, less than a month later, the IEP team has determined that he will be transitioned to a more restrictive setting immediately after Thanksgiving break.

The change in setting is right for him. He will be in a behavior support program with a lower ratio, access to a full-time behavior specialist, and a more structured daily schedule. I met the staff, spoke at length with the behavior specialist, and think this is the right outcome for this student.

Jennifer: Teachable Moments

I once had a second-grade student who would get in trouble for being on his “cell phone” constantly in class. He talked to everyone he knew—sometimes nicely, sometimes yelling and disrupting the lesson.

This problem would have been easy to solve if we could just take the cell phone away. But in this case, the cell phone was not a phone at all, but my student’s little clenched fist held up to his ear, and the people on the other line were nothing more than his vivid imagination and memory of past conversations.

His constant conversations were becoming a problem. No matter how many tokens he lost, he still wanted to talk on his “phone.” He didn’t care if he had to work during choice time, because again, he had his phone with him. I didn’t know what to do about his behavior. Five minutes after I would ask him to “hang up,” he’d go and dial another number and be on the phone again. I felt like I was losing my mind!

Kathy: The Difficult Student

I have a student who is difficult not to find repugnant. It makes me feel small to admit this, but it is a reality I face. “Bridget” does not take care of herself physically. She is obese. She dresses in elastic waistband pants that are always falling down. Her hair is often unclean and has no style. She wears t-shirts that are much too large for her and have unattractive images on them.

Most of the time Bridget sits with her mouth hanging open and a scowl on her face. She is slow to respond and unmotivated. She seems to be perfectly content to sit all day. The only thing that gets her the least bit excited is food. I have found her sneaking a drink of the concentrated lemon juice we use in our cleaning spray. She takes sugar packets out of the teachers’ coffee area to eat. She is constantly begging food off of the class.

I often find her just sitting in the room she is supposed to be cleaning. When asked what she is doing, she will give me her blank stare or tell me that she is finished. When I look around, it is obvious she has put little to no effort into the task. The most frustrating part is that she can do so much more.

Katie: When Will I Become "a Professional"?

As a new teacher still working on my master’s degree and the youngest person on staff at my center, I find it difficult to consider myself *trumpets* “a professional.” I’ve yet to build all the confidence I need to feel like I know what I’m talking about when communicating with families, co-workers, and students. At least I know I have the children in my classroom beat, though they still can throw me for a loop with some of their questions and comments.

I feel confident that I know the children in my classroom well enough to give an accurate description of them to others. However, I still second-guess myself, wondering “did I just sound ridiculous?” or “I’m pretty sure that didn’t make sense.” Because the children in my classroom use Autism Scholarship funds to attend our out-of-their-district preschool, I have to tell other schools’ professional teams where these children are in their development. It’s hard to believe you sound like an educated person when you still are learning about special education, the IEP process, and the key terms used to describe a child’s behavior or ability level. This week alone I got off the phone several times thinking “oh, they think I’m an idiot.”

Ellen: Why Are You Dressed Like A Hot Dog?

Around Halloween, my school holds a “Story Book Character Day,” which I found kind of offensive my first year. I was shocked that many kindergarten and first-grade students came to school in costume, especially when I found out all those Star Wars Storm Troopers were supposed to be book characters. There are many students at my school who do not participate in Halloween for religious or cultural reasons, so I thought this excuse to wear costumes to school that conveniently coincided with the holiday was a little insensitive.

That being said, I dressed up as Eric Carle’s The Grouchy Ladybug and my students absolutely loved it. I was also very pleased to find that almost all of the other kindergarten and first-grade kids did dress up as actual book characters, as I guess most families either felt that it didn’t glorify Halloween or maybe didn’t want their students to be excluded.

Katie: Full-Time Work + Full-Time School = One Crazy Life

Juggling full-time graduate school and full-time work makes for one heck of a chaotic life. My to-do list is difficult to keep up with as it grows and grows throughout the week. To make matters worse, it’s hard for me to maintain my concentration on the task at hand. When I’m at work I want to do school stuff, when I’m at school I want to do work stuff, and on weekends I would rather spend my time with family, friends, and my pillow (oh how I miss the pillow!).

It’s hard to stay on top of all the work I need to complete, whether it be planning home visits, writing 10-page papers, posting in a discussion, planning for a team meeting, maintaining data collection sheets, and so on. I’m managing—but not as well as I would like to be. Basically, I’m overwhelmed. (By the way, here’s a sample data collection sheet, which one reader requested a while back.)

It’s hard for me to ask for help or know what exactly I need to be helped with, so . . . I try to take on everything! This is not necessarily the best route, I know, but I’m not quite sure what else to do. (I’m coming to realize that my perfectionist, control freak, “I’ll do it all myself” personality isn’t helping in this situation, but that is so hard to change.)

Jennifer: Troubleshooting the Inclusion Dilemma

I have always been a huge advocate of inclusion. I think it does so much for our students when they  leave their self-contained classroom to go out and engage in a different-paced activity with a larger group of students than they are used to. It encourages communication and helps them increase interpersonal skills. And most importantly, it builds friendships that they may not have otherwise had.

My school is specific to students with physical and health impairments; however, we are connected to a general education school. When I first came here, I thought that this was the absolute perfect set-up for inclusion. I had all these huge plans for pen-pal programs to motivate my students to write, science projects that they could do in teams, maybe even a play or music performance that would bring our classes together (for some reason, every time I thought about how great it would be, my ideas played out in my head like a montage to the theme song for “The Wonder Years”).