Conferences

In spite of snow days and reschedulings, I finally made it through my first round of parent-teacher conferences. Now, I know I only had a couple parents to talk with, but I am very fortunate to be working with some great parents this year. Parents who want the success of their students, and parents who have the mindset to work with the teacher (me) for that success. It i reassuring for me when parents walk away from a conference with a smile on their face, and giving me permission to challenge their child to reach the expectations I'll be setting for them.

I know this is not always the case, but for now, I am glad that it is.

Visualization vs. Application

As an athlete, one of the strategies coaches would tell me was to visualize myself making the play in games.  This is an effective tool since it brings a certain level of familiarity to a stressful task/performance and alleviates some of the anxieties associated with it.  

This strategy has followed me through life, and I found myself with a clear vision of what I wanted my first teaching experience to be.  

However, as an athlete I knew that once I stepped onto that field, events would not transpire the way I had envisioned.  If we get everything we want, then life becomes a meaningless pile of accumulated uselessness.  If being a Special Education Teacher was easy, then everyone would do it.  But it is not easy, and I knew that.  I knew it was going to be difficult, it is a lot of paperwork, that sometimes you get on the good and the bad side of parents, and that sometimes you struggle with students' learning or behavior.  I worked as a para-professional for over five years, so I knew all this coming in to this year, and yet I was still caught off-guard.  

I can't say that it is any one thing that has caught me off-guard, but the combination of things.  What has been unexpected to me, is needing to become a 1:1, and in-turn feeling like I've had to put the other students on cruise-control and ignore them in order to work with one.  What I did not account for was not having a time during the day to plan or collaborate with others in my department or building.  I do not want to fail my students, but I am only recently feeling like I'm coming out from being behind the 8-ball.  I am finally getting the help that is necessary for student success. 

I am not making excuses, and when I threw an interception in a game I didn't complain about it, but made sure that the guy was tackled so I could get to the sideline, evaluate, and fix the problem.  It is not what has happened to this point in the year that will dictate the way this year progresses, but the way My team and I are able to respond to these adversities, critiques, and obstacles. 

Something that is coming up, is that I am going to have to alter my leadership style to a certain extent.  However, I will save this topic for another post.  Thanks for stopping by.  Feel free to comment or follow.

October Reflections

Good afternoon,
Thank you for taking a minute to check out my blog.  I have a little bit of time to reflect on my first 6 weeks as a teacher.  I want to touch on the good things that have been going well, the things that are still causing stress and not going so well, and end with looking forward to the next couple months and the holiday season. 

The GOOD:
I was fortunate to step into a classroom that had a majority of returning students who knew what was expected of them, who knew the building, and who had a working program in place.  I have two 8th grade students who have been able to go to their GenEd classes and perform well there.  I also have a 7th grade student who came in the first day and jumped right into his visual schedule and routines as if it was business as usual, and he has been amazing all year.  My most difficult student had newly transition to where I am from the elementary school and we have had some success helping him learn the boundaries and expectations, and getting some of his old systems and activities in place in the new setting. 

My team has been amazingly helpful in putting together new things for the students to be working on, and in keeping them headed towards meeting their IEP goals.  We have even been able to create activities that challenge students who seem to show mastery over last years curricula.  I am so glad that I have been able to mesh with my aides in the way I have, and be able to openly brainstorm ideas to see what may or may not work with students.  In addition to my immediate team, the entire TFMS building staff has been incredibly supportive of me as I'm trying to get students to be challenged and successful this year to prepare them for either the HS next year or for more success here next year.  The parents, have been a positive factor in transition being smooth for me, and for their child transitioning to getting used to me this year as well. 

Needs WORK:
Though fortunate to not step into an empty class with no materials, I am still having to weed through the materials and equipment in the room, and decipher the organization of items I have stepped into, and see how to get it to work for me.  It has proven to be a work in progress.  I also feel like I am finally going to be heading in the right direction with my most difficult student.  I think some positive things are finally getting set into motion, and we should see some changes soon. 

The OUTLOOK:
Over the course of the next couple months until the Christmas Break, we will be adjusting and solidifying new and old behavior plans, slowly evolving an extensive visual schedule into a simpler, more differentiable one to handle more activities and flexibility.  We will be looking at what students are doing, and how we can continue to challenge them towards new heights.  We have had some rough days, but even on those days we have seen some positive growth from all of our students, and we will continue to pull the best our students can give us from them. 

Survival of the Fittest... or Diversified

I remember the old General Motors commercials when they were hyping their pick-ups and their cars were not fairing so well; their slogan was something like "Do One Things Well."  This they did; their pick-ups have been the #2 selling automobile in America as long as the F-150 has been the #1.  But of these two car companies, Ford did not need or take any bailout money to make it through the first part of the current recession.  Why?  Ford had already diversified.  They had the Explorer, the Escape, and the Taurus which where the best selling (domestic) autos in their respective classes. 

What does this have to do my Life on Special Education? Everything.  I tend to get restless if I have only one plate spinning at a time.  Since I have finished my Master's in Education, I have been trying to figure out what venture I will add to my pot next.  I'm thinking that this next venture will be consulting with parents to help them create a proper home environment for their child(ren) with special needs.  This will be the first of many other consulting services that I'll probably be doing over the years. 

So, the question is, how do I take the next/first step and get started?  And the answer is that I'm not sure yet, but I'm researching around, and I'm gonna figure this out before too long. 

Intricately Simple: Behavior Modification

I have been teaching for four weeks now, and have been referred to as the behavior expert several times.  Maybe this is because I am the Life Skills Teacher, or maybe it is because of how I have been able to have relative success with the severe behavior students that I have in my class.  Either way, i think it is a flattering, but presumptuous term for me.  I do not consider myself to be an expert on anything at this point, but I know that I enjoy the challenge that behavior modification presents. 

To oversimplify behavior modification into one sentence, I would say that it is to hold out until you get the behaviors you want from the student.  

There are a varying number of factors that play a role in implementation:

1. Why is the student engaging in the behaviors?
2. What causes the behaviors?
3. How long has the student exhibited these behaviors?
4. Were these negative behaviors reinforced intentionally or unintentionally in the past?
5. Where did the student learn these behaviors?
6. Can the student be redirected, or do they need to be removed when the behaviors arise?
7. Are the behaviors a result of their OCD, or are they in somewhat control?
8. And the list goes on.

Behavior modification required one to be fearless in the face of raging students, and patient enough to outlast the tantrum until the student gives in to the expectations that were set in front of them. The biggest detriment to behavior modification is inconsistency on the part of the staff member implementing the program.  You must be willing to wait for EXACTLY the behavior you want, and nothing less.  This is not easy, but it is simple thing to do.  If anyone has watched HITCH, the 90-10 Rule is a great illustration of behavior modification. Hitch is soft and steady in his tone, but rigid in his expectations. 

Enjoy:

As I mentioned before, behavior modification is intricate, but simple.  So stick to your guns, hold the line, and never back down!