In Which Wiser Words Prevail

Sometimes it takes outside perspective to make you realize why you're doing something, or at least remind you. For me it came from having a conversation with a very trusted mentor for lack of a better word. I was explaining to him why I was getting frustrated with what I thought was the regurgitation of information while working on this program. He listened intently nodding in all the right places and not at all disagreeing with what I was saying of course he wasn't agreeing with me either. After I finished saying what I had to say he looked at me and he said that I was not just regurgitating the information for the sake of regurgitating the information.He explained that I had actually missed something important. He explained that I am regurgitating the information for the piece of paper that I really want.
While it really shouldn't  have taken an old Professor telling me that the purpose of me doing this was for the piece of paper, he was completely right. In doing so he restored my drive. So from here on, I'm allowing myself to be annoyed and frustrated at times, so long as I make sure that I look ahead to that piece of paper. Look ahead to my ultimate goal.

Planning for English Language Learners

Next semester I will be teaching a fifth grade science unit on Earthquakes (Earth & Space section).

In my class I have four students that I'd like to be specifically prepared for as they are each at a different level in their English language acquisition. We will call them Louisiana, Tennessee, Alabama, and Minnesota.  Using the Six Stages of Second-Language Acquisition from Colorin' Colorado Louisiana would be Speech Emergent, Alabama would be Beginning Fluency, Tennessee would be considered Intermediate Fluency, and Minnesota would be labeled Advanced Fluency.  The six stages can be found on the link, and below.

Pre-production	This is also called "the silent period," when the student takes in the new language but does not speak it. This period often lasts six weeks or longer, depending on the individual.
Early production	The individual begins to speak using short words and sentences, but the emphasis is still on listening and absorbing the new language. There will be many errors in the early production stage.
Speech Emergent	Speech becomes more frequent, words and sentences are longer, but the individual still relies heavily on context clues and familiar topics. Vocabulary continues to increase and errors begin to decrease, especially in common or repeated interactions.
Beginning Fluency	Speech is fairly fluent in social situations with minimal errors. New contexts and academic language are challenging and the individual will struggle to express themselves due to gaps in vocabulary and appropriate phrases.
Intermediate Fluency	Communicating in the second language is fluent, especially in social language situations. The individual is able to speak almost fluently in new situations or in academic areas, but there will be gaps in vocabulary knowledge and some unknown expressions. There are very few errors, and the individual is able to demonstrate higher order thinking skills in the second language such as offering an opinion or analyzing a problem.
Advanced Fluency	The individual communicates fluently in all contexts and can maneuver successfully in new contexts and when exposed to new academic information. At this stage, the individual may still have an accent and use idiomatic expressions incorrectly at times, but the individual is essentially fluent and comfortable communicating in the second language.

Teaching liquification to the four students I will include several different tools. Starting with the textbook, and the textbooks video clip. Reading and listening and group summarizing. These are all very helpful to Minnesota, he enjoys learning by teaching his fellow students. He is really good at picking up the main ideas and rewording them to explain the concept to other students.

Tennessee really benefits from Minnesota's ability to reword the lesson, that combined with answering questions comprehension and topic trivia questions helps her vocabulary improve. She really enjoys listening and then reading back to get her pronunciation down so that she sounds native rather than a second language learner. She also engages from short animations. I have a few to use help explain liquification.

Alabama understands but his speaking ability isn't as high as many of his classmates. He struggles a bit with pronunciation and grammar, but really learns from seeing things and with help from his classmates. He also isn't at all afraid to make mistakes, and will often make mistakes on purpose for laughs. To help him understand even more we will work in small groups using the vocabulary in sentences and to answer questions. We will also incorporate a touching experiment using water and cornstarch creating non Newtonian substances.

The lowest language level is Louisiana, she has grown so much in the last year and a half that it's hard to believe she is the same student. She likes to quietly practice to make sure that she isn't making mistakes. Her confidence has grown drastically but she still isn't nearly as confident as her classmate Alabama. To help ensure that she has the chance to practice we will do a few lip reading, and reading up and down activities where the students repeat read with other students. Reading up and reading down I incorporate into tired classes where they stand and read and must remain standing until everyone has had the chance to read. Calling the students randomly.

Frustration level RED

I realize that I have had a busy day, that my students were challenging today, that my computer is still not doing what it should be doing. That said I am frustrated at a level that I haven't reached maybe ever. So here is a little video to help me relax and then I will delve further in...

Okay, I feel a little better now. However, I'm still crazy stressed and here is why... I really am excited to get my teaching certificate or license whichever your preference happens to be. That being said I absolutely hate busy work, I don't use it as a teacher and I can't stand it any better when I'm given it. This last assignment that we did with the Mind map has left me struggling to understand what the point was. Spending hours compiling information and then plugging it into a program to create a presentation that is nothing but the regurgitation of information is an absolute waste of time.

 Special education and special needs is really important it's something that all teachers really should take into consideration and be on the lookout for in their students. Understanding the different categories of special needs is important and I don't mind having done the research because it is something that I will need to know in the future. I just wish there would have been some way or assignment that allowed me to use the information in an applied way. Even the program that we used to something that I will never need to use again.

These are the type of assignments that have me questioning everything. Rather than regurgitating the information I could have spent that time practicing math for the Praxis exam or practicing writing or going over reading comprehension.

I could have spent that time working on stage management things for an upcoming festival. I could have spent that time working on a community blog or I could have spent that time just relaxing after an incredibly frustrating day in the classroom.

Here's hoping that when my computer is fixed these problems will go away.

Mind Mapping

IDEA by Chris Bleeker

So here is a mind-map done for the class. I'm not at all sure of the why of this assignment. Frankly, after this I'm angry and frustrated and really honestly feel like I just wasted HOURS of time that I could have used in one of the other things I have going on. I like learning, and finding ways of incorporating that new knowledge. This felt like information regurgitation, and a total time waster. I can't even see a need to use this mind mapping program in any of my classes or any activities that I do. I'd much rather do a presentation in another program, or find a way to use the information gained by all the research and reading this required.

Special Education: A Survey

I am very lucky in my friends, I have them spread all over the world in more career fields than some people even know about. This includes a plethora of educators. I was lucky enough to have 4 such friends answer several survey questions. One of the teachers specializes in special education, and another is an educator and a parent of a special needs student.

I broke my survey into a form that they could fill out, and there were two portions of the form. The first portion was filled out by one of the respondents (the parent of a special needs child).

What if any age does the process begin at or cut off?

• 12-15

How is a student identified for special education referral?

• Individualized Education Program referral

Who takes responsibility for the progress of the child before and after the referral?

• Me

What is the school administrations’s directive for special education?

• In class assistance and accommodations made by me in the classroom

What provisions are made for students identified for special education?

• More time on assignments, individualized lesson plans, teacher's aides.

What is the level of parent involvement in referral process and special education?

• They must fill it the referral paperwork and meet with the teachers at least twice a year for progress updates

To what degree are students integrated into classes with non-special needs children?

• They are fully integrated but still receive accommodations when needed.

How do you identify a student for special education?

• Behavior and/or academic ability
• Slower work speed and a lower level of comprehension.
• I watch student behavior and discuss what I see with other teachers. Because I teach 8th graders, I will also speak to the student and see what he/she can share with me. Of course, I talk to the child's parents. They know the child much better than I do. 

What are the signs of a struggling student that you look for before referring them for special education?

• Quality of work, ability to follow assignment instructions.
• Low grades, slower work speed, and lower levels of comprehension 
• Low test scores that do not match the student's work and motivation, Struggles that appear to be unable to be overcome, years of struggle in the same area (as noted in the child's record)
• If I suspect something is amiss, I will start strategies for the student that I know are accommodations allowed within Virginia's Individualized Education Plans. If those accommodations begin to have a positive effect on the child's performance and learning, then I reach out to my administrator and Special Education teacher.  
• Signs often include the child not being able to retain or recall information, working at a level way below their peers, having little confidence in their ability, short attention span, limited or inappropriate communication with peers or they may have issues with sight or hearing.

Are there alternative methods of instruction tried out before referring the student for special education? If you, what are they?

• Yes, differentiated instruction, small group settings, one on one instruction.
• No, not really. Most students already have an IEP before they come to my class. I teach 8th grade so there are usually accommodations already in place.
• I will always begin to provide accommodations, even if the student is not an identified Special Education student, as soon as I realize the accommodations are needed. I document those accommodations and use that data to help isolate the areas of weakness and concern for future conversations with parents and administrators.
  My most commonly used accommodations are teacher-provided notes, seating proximity to instruction/away from distractions, seating proximity to Instructional Assistant, small group instruction/review, remediation of material daily, small group testing, and test retakes.
• Alternative methods of instructions tried out would include a Reading Recovery programme, an intensive reading programme undertaken daily for 6-12months. Other methods of instruction may include Teacher Aide programmes to develop phonological awareness, increase the child's reading mileage or target specific learning. Alternative methods of instruction are very focused and targeted, if the child continues to have limited progress then they would be referred for extra support.

What (if any) needs do you consider to be or not be a special need that your school or district do?

• Learning needs and severe emotional and/or behavior issues. 
•  We have hearing and language specialists and technology available for those students that need it plus teachers aides and special education teachers in staff for all kids who need services.
• Our school caters for children with special needs such as ADD, ADHD, autism, dyslexia, downs syndrome, learning disabilities that affect the child's ability to retain information, hearing and sight loss. Our school would not cater for severe special needs where the child may be in danger surrounded by their peers or where their independence is severely limited (wheelchair bound).

What changes in the policy of special needs learners in you school or district would you like to see?

• More teachers and smaller class sizes. 
• More out of class, one on one teaching with the special Ed teachers. I have 160 students and it is very difficult to spend the required time each special needs student requires during the day for adequate learning and teaching. 
• I think, at times, the referral process is too subjective. A student who has struggled for years will mask the struggle with behavior problems. If I am able to see through those behavior problems to the internal issue, it is very frustrating for me to hear an administrator say "well, if he behaved in class, he would learn more". I guess what I am saying is I wish administrators trusted their teachers more when it comes to the referral process.
• Changes need to occur in the availability of funding so that needs can be addressed before the child falls too far behind as it can be extremely hard to catch up. Often a child has to fall in the seriously behind category to be accepted for funding support which would allow a teacher aide or support person to work one-to-one with that child.

What is the level of parent involvement in referral process and special education?

• Parents are involved in all levels of referral, from Stage 1 which highlights initial concerns for a child to Stage 3 which requires an independent education plan for the child and external support. Parents are contacted and encouraged to come to meetings where the education plans are created.
•  Low
• They must fill out the paperwork and we have progress meetings and IEP reviews at least twice a year
• The parents are allowed to begin the referral process and they are required to be present at every step. If they chose not to be, they still must sign off on all paperwork. Individualized Education Plans must be revisited every year, with the parents and current teachers. A parent may call an IEP meeting whenever he/she feels it is necessary. 

To what degree are students integrated into classes with non-special needs children?

• Varies from full inclusion to solely Special Ed setting.
•  Fully integrated
• All IEP students I teach are integrated into an Inclusion class. This is a class that combines Special Education and General Education students into one learning setting. The Special Education teacher, Instructional Assistants, and General Education teachers work together to plan lessons, plan remediation, and instruct every student in that classroom as a unit. 
• Students are integrated into all activities within the school and adaptions are made where necessary. Our school now has priority learner classes where all of the children have an extra need either with their learning or their behaviour. These classes are not big enough to cater for all needs at the moment so special needs children are integrated into other classes. Children are still expected to follow rules, this applies especially in the case of ADD, ADHD children

Did I miss something that you think is critical, or is there something else that you want to share? 

• As a teacher and as a parent of a child with special needs, I wish there were more parent involvement with the kids' teachers and classroom activities. Twice a year is too little time to spend on updates and check-ins. 
• In Christchurch, there has been a very significant increase in the amount of special needs, learning disability children the teachers are observing. It is believed to be caused by the earthquakes in 2010/11 when the children were aged 2-8 and they and their parents underwent huge stress for a prolonged period.
• The sooner an issue is addressed for a child, the better the chance for the child to keep up with their peers and not fall severely behind to a point where it is hard to catch up. Funding needs to be available when issues are first noted and not be only available for the worst affected. This is the situation in New Zealand where the children who are far behind are given the funding first.

It's been eye opening seeing things that I haven't really had to or been able to see in the school that I currently teach in. Also it was really interesting to read about the changes the NZ has seen in Christchurch since the earthquake. 

Interestingly while getting the feedback for this assignment I was offered an opportunity to work with a new program that is being introduced to Korea called Big Ones Little Ones, a mentoring program for students with special needs. 

Special Education in Tomorrow's Learning World

After several computer glitches and hiccups it appears that I've finally found my way back online, so it's late, but here it is...

Video reflections

This is a really cool program, and it is certainly an idea that has been gaining a lot more traction and notice lately. It seems that more and more of the parents and teachers are getting frustrated with the status-quo. The constant standardized testing, the growing need for qualified teachers (especially as those qualified are leaving the profession in overwhelming numbers). The idea of keeping kids moving, interacting and learning while doing holds a great deal of appeal for many. Unfortunately, this program is designed for a smaller country. A great deal of the problems that the USA struggles with can be almost always directly tied to the sheer number of educational departments that get to give regulations to educators. 

This might be one of the most interesting systems I have seen a school in the US. The idea of incorporating all of the different learning styles, and then teaming up with NASA is just so fantastic. As an elementary science teacher I see all the time how over time the students get frustrated with changing styles of learning. Those students that learn through reading get frustrated at those that need to listen or the hands on. They don't understand why the other students don't get it. My students that need to do  or tough can't fathom how anyone can understand simply by reading it. So the idea of having a classroom where the students are able to pick their learning style is simply awesome. I would love the freedom of working in an environment where all my students can thrive and learn and grown. 

I found this video last year, and I have to say that of all of the educational videos I've watched this is probably my favorite. Mostly, because it reminds me of the simplicity and importance of communication. Just taking a moment out of your day to communicate with another person one on one can do to them and you so much. It obviously is fantastic for the student, but it also helps the teacher as a teacher, and a person. To see the difference that you make, and to see the growth of your students is the reminder that we as educators need especially on those bad days. 

There was a 3rd video that was listed, but I found it not nearly as interesting as the others that were shared, and most certainly less interesting than the Floridian teacher. 

A Voicethread

This was a kind of interesting project and I can see myself using this in other ways. This isn't amazing, but it is a cool idea! So enjoy it if you're up for it :)

Drowning in demographics

So here it is, the second infographic that I've created. I like this one so much more than the first I did. Of course practice makes it so much easier! This assignment has been really rather interesting, looking at statistics and demographics in a way that I haven't since I was back in school getting my BA. Of course then it was voter demographics rather than student (well more like teacher in this case).

The assignment was Student Data Analysis, please note I teach in Korea. In the entire elementary school I work at there are exactly 2 non Korean students. One boy is brand new, he is of Indian decent, I have heard his father is a new professor at one of the universities in town. The other is caucasian (his father a Brit and his mother is Canadian), and the only blonde student in school.  The school is affiliated with the Second Day Adventist church (SDA) so the students are either practicing Christian, or don't mention religion in the classroom. Lastly it is a private school and has a limited scholarship program. Socioeconomically the majority of these students have very wealthy parents. This is very typical of Korea, home of the most homogeneous schools I have ever been. So, I looked into the demographics for the school district that I graduated from, compared to the rest of the state, county, and the numbers for the USA.  Here is what I found.

Questioning...Why?

Week 2 is officially complete and week 3 has started. With the beginning of week 3 I find myself asking the question, why? I'm having a very hard time understanding what purpose or intent behind certain assignments is.

There was a time when the intent wouldn't have mattered to me. Lately however I find myself feeling like a two-year-old constantly questioning why. Not so much as to why am I doing this assignment but what the purpose of this assignment is.

I understand continuing education is incredibly important especially in a constantly changing field like education. Yet, I find assignments with little or no applicable reasoning frustrating. They simply are not the best way that I can spend my time. Especially with my current class schedule being what it is, where I have 27 unique classes to teach every week. My limited freetime has become much more valuable to me.

Let me be clear, I do not for a second believe my time is any more valuable than my classmates time. I just find that I don't have as much free as I used to.

Perhaps it is because of this I find myself misunderstanding the intent behind the assignments. Doing research for the sake of research makes absolutely no sense to me. I would much rather take the research and create a lesson that I could then turn around and use in one of my 27 unique classes.

I love history and I love science. I love teaching both of these subjects. I love researching both of these topics. Researching education for the sake of education seems to hold almost no interest for me.

Sadly, if I can't find a way to implement it into my daily life or classroom I see it almost as a waste of time. It reminds me of why I didn't get my educational degree when I was in university. It makes me realize that getting a master's in education is a terrible idea for me.