Sunday, May 31, 2015
Coordination with the Family
This week in SPED I have learned so much on what it means to be involved in Special Education. On Friday we did a mock IEP meeting, and it was so cool to actually see how they should be run and how they work! While we were roll playing the meeting I played the students mother. I felt so included in the decision making process, and a mother should be! I am glad that we learned how these meetings work because in the future I will be in those meetings and I want to have the family feel included. This activity was super beneficial for me, and I learned so much from it!
The IEP meeting activity went right along with this weeks readings. This weeks readings were about including the family when and coordinating with them when working with the students. The family should ALWAYS be aware of what steps are being taken when working with their child in special education. It is so important to have the family be included when making these decisions, because if they are, the students will certainly benefit from it more.
I love how in this class we do a lot of hands on things because that is how I learn best! I now know how court cases work when dealing with issues in special education, and I know how IEP meetings are run and I am more prepared for them when the time comes.
Saturday, May 30, 2015
IEP Meeting
I have learned so much in SPED 310 this week! I am continually impressed at all of the things that go on behind the scenes. There are so many things that teachers do to help their students! I have gained a lot of respect for my teachers that I have had. I always knew that teaching would be hard work, there was no question about that in my mind. This week helped me to realize why teaching is such hard work. There is so much to know! And in addition to teaching in the classroom, preparing lessons, and grading papers, teachers attend so many meetings on behalf of their students. At these meetings, they make plans to help particular students to improve. When you meet, you have to gather a panel of people with different areas of expertise. You need tests and data in order to determine which route would be the most helpful for your student. And one of the most important things that you need is to be able to communicate and collaborate with the parents of the student you are trying to help. This is essential! The skill of communicating with parents is critical to my success as a teacher.
We participated in a mock IEP meeting on Friday. It was really interesting to see how it all works. I got the role of a third grade general education teacher. I want to be a general education teacher, so it was really cool to see how that role functions in an IEP meeting. The principal was in charge, and we each went around and took turns talking about our student based on information that we got on slips of paper. Each person had something different and valuable to contribute to the conversation about our student. I loved that different people brought up things that I hadn't even thought about before. It taught me a lot about the importance of effective collaboration. Everyone has something to bring to the table and I learned about how important it is to listen to them with an open mind. Parents also have a huge impact on their child's education plan. (As they should!) They know their child and can therefore make very valuable contributions.
There is still so much that I have to learn! But I felt that this week was an eye opener for me. I loved getting some hands on experience and learning for myself what it is like to be in an IEP meeting.
We participated in a mock IEP meeting on Friday. It was really interesting to see how it all works. I got the role of a third grade general education teacher. I want to be a general education teacher, so it was really cool to see how that role functions in an IEP meeting. The principal was in charge, and we each went around and took turns talking about our student based on information that we got on slips of paper. Each person had something different and valuable to contribute to the conversation about our student. I loved that different people brought up things that I hadn't even thought about before. It taught me a lot about the importance of effective collaboration. Everyone has something to bring to the table and I learned about how important it is to listen to them with an open mind. Parents also have a huge impact on their child's education plan. (As they should!) They know their child and can therefore make very valuable contributions.
There is still so much that I have to learn! But I felt that this week was an eye opener for me. I loved getting some hands on experience and learning for myself what it is like to be in an IEP meeting.
Practice makes pefect!
This week in our class we did a mock hearing for the Cedar Rapids case and a mock IEP meeting. Being a part of both of these activities has really caused me to think about my role as an educator and an advocate for my students. I realized that I have so much more to learn and that I really need to dedicate myself to the knowledge that I am learning in this class. The knowledge that I learn here on campus will help me when I go out in the real world as an educator. It will help me know what is best for my students, what I can do to help them, and how I can advocate for them.
The Cedar Rapids case was a big eye opener for me. I was the lawyer for the school side. First off, I don't ever want to be a lawyer. This role however, helped me to realize that I do not have enough knowledge on the education laws. As the lawyer I had to use law to make arguments and I struggled to do this. This made me want to be more dedicated to what we are learning about the law and in general the things that we are learning about in class. It also helped me to understand why teachers need to know the law as well and what we can do as teachers if we know the law and what is appropriate.
The mock IEP put me in different shoes. I was the Speech Pathologist which is not the profession that I am going into. I realized that all of these different professions are all so important and that if they work as a team great things can come from it. I also realized how involved I need to allow the parents to be in all processes. They need to know that they are valued. Also, I think that it is so important for us to not build walls between professionals and the parents. I would say that I would be quite intimidated if I was a parent put in a room of professionals and not given any recognition for my ideas or even my presence. It is so important to make parents feel valued and important to the decisions made on their child's behalf. If they come then it is most likely that they do really care about their child and have important insights.
I need to remember to always do my part in keeping up on my profession. Education changes frequently and I need to stay up on these changes so that I can best help my students. I also need to appreciate and use other professionals as resources when I have a child that has special needs. Parents need to be involved!
The Cedar Rapids case was a big eye opener for me. I was the lawyer for the school side. First off, I don't ever want to be a lawyer. This role however, helped me to realize that I do not have enough knowledge on the education laws. As the lawyer I had to use law to make arguments and I struggled to do this. This made me want to be more dedicated to what we are learning about the law and in general the things that we are learning about in class. It also helped me to understand why teachers need to know the law as well and what we can do as teachers if we know the law and what is appropriate.
The mock IEP put me in different shoes. I was the Speech Pathologist which is not the profession that I am going into. I realized that all of these different professions are all so important and that if they work as a team great things can come from it. I also realized how involved I need to allow the parents to be in all processes. They need to know that they are valued. Also, I think that it is so important for us to not build walls between professionals and the parents. I would say that I would be quite intimidated if I was a parent put in a room of professionals and not given any recognition for my ideas or even my presence. It is so important to make parents feel valued and important to the decisions made on their child's behalf. If they come then it is most likely that they do really care about their child and have important insights.
I need to remember to always do my part in keeping up on my profession. Education changes frequently and I need to stay up on these changes so that I can best help my students. I also need to appreciate and use other professionals as resources when I have a child that has special needs. Parents need to be involved!
Monday, May 25, 2015
IDEA in Special Education
It has been so interesting to learn all about the laws and principles in special education. It is kind of scary that I had never heard of IDEA or even knew that there were so many options that special education students and family have. My favorite principles of IDEA are LRE and FAPE.
Least restricted environment, or LRE is one of 6 principles of IDEA. I love this principle because it gives the family and student so many options of where he/she can receive their education. The students can receive an education at home, a special school, a special class, pull out method, push in method, or be involved in a regular classroom. Students will usually start toward the bottom, and then move their way up the latter. I just think that it is so great that these students have the opportunity to receive quality education, because they weren't always able to. Not only that, they have so many different options of how and where they would like to receive it.
Another great principle of IDEA is FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education). This basically says that every student that has special needs or a disability will receive free education. Like I said earlier, this is a huge step. It is so wonderful that those with special needs have the opportunity to be educated and not only that, but it is free. Just because a student has special needs does not or should not mean they can't be educated.
Although this weeks reading was a bit confusing and a lot to take in, I have learned so much and I am so grateful for the education system we have set up for those students with special needs.
Least restricted environment, or LRE is one of 6 principles of IDEA. I love this principle because it gives the family and student so many options of where he/she can receive their education. The students can receive an education at home, a special school, a special class, pull out method, push in method, or be involved in a regular classroom. Students will usually start toward the bottom, and then move their way up the latter. I just think that it is so great that these students have the opportunity to receive quality education, because they weren't always able to. Not only that, they have so many different options of how and where they would like to receive it.
Another great principle of IDEA is FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education). This basically says that every student that has special needs or a disability will receive free education. Like I said earlier, this is a huge step. It is so wonderful that those with special needs have the opportunity to be educated and not only that, but it is free. Just because a student has special needs does not or should not mean they can't be educated.
Although this weeks reading was a bit confusing and a lot to take in, I have learned so much and I am so grateful for the education system we have set up for those students with special needs.
Saturday, May 23, 2015
Principles of IDEA and Special Ed Professionals
This week we have talked a lot about the principles of IDEA. One of the principles that stuck out to me was LRE or the least restrictive environment. Essentially, a regular classroom is the least restrictive environment, and home is the most restrictive. In between, there is a whole set of options to help a child work towards being in the least restrictive environment, or in a normal classroom. I love this principle! I think that it is incredible that we have so many options to help children be their best. Sometimes it is tempting to think that it is all or nothing with students, but even within the classroom there are a lot of options and different professionals who can help students.
I also took some time to study the different professionals that could potentially be involved with helping students to reach their full potential. I had the same impressions studying this that I did when studying the principles of IDEA. I love that there are so many people that are available to help children. Even though there are so many people that are there to help students, I am realizing that the teacher is often the first one to recognize and observe problems that students have. It is so important for me as a future teacher to learn about potential disabilities, and to learn what steps need to be taken in order to help students. I also need to be aware of what help is available so that I can know who to contact when I suspect a problem with one of my students.
I also took some time to study the different professionals that could potentially be involved with helping students to reach their full potential. I had the same impressions studying this that I did when studying the principles of IDEA. I love that there are so many people that are available to help children. Even though there are so many people that are there to help students, I am realizing that the teacher is often the first one to recognize and observe problems that students have. It is so important for me as a future teacher to learn about potential disabilities, and to learn what steps need to be taken in order to help students. I also need to be aware of what help is available so that I can know who to contact when I suspect a problem with one of my students.
IDEA! and laws
These past two weeks have taught me a lot about behind the scenes of special education. I honestly never realized how many different components and rules that there are to special education. This has caused me to really reflect on what I need to do as a teacher to make sure that I learn all that I can and stay current with the happenings. Law for special education is changing constantly so as an educator I need to make sure that I follow this law. I need to follow it to protect myself and more importantly I need to follow it so that I can be sure to help my students fully and completely.
As I learned about the principles of IDEA I realized how involved I need to allow the parents of all of my students to be. They deserve to and by law need to know what is happening with their child. I think that it is important to make them know that they are involved so that they want to be involved as well. My favorite principle of IDEA that we learned about was LRE which is known as least restrictive environment. I thought that it was interesting that the classroom was where we should always be working to as the LRE. I also think that it is interesting that as a teacher we should always have the regular classroom as the end goal for our students. I think often times children get classified as one thing and then are never moved from that classification. They can be moved if we have an open mind and help them to move.
One last thing that I learned was IEP and the process of IEP. By sitting in the classroom and collaborating with people of different majors I realize that we all play such an important part in and IEP. We all work together to help one student. We don't individually have all of the knowledge but when we work together we do have all of the knowledge that is needed. This gives me more drive to do all that I can to help learn the things needed for making IEPs successful. Honestly I didn't know about them till this week and to be perfectly honest I didn't really think that a regular teacher had much to do with special needs. I am excited for the opportunity that I will have to be involved in this process.
As I learned about the principles of IDEA I realized how involved I need to allow the parents of all of my students to be. They deserve to and by law need to know what is happening with their child. I think that it is important to make them know that they are involved so that they want to be involved as well. My favorite principle of IDEA that we learned about was LRE which is known as least restrictive environment. I thought that it was interesting that the classroom was where we should always be working to as the LRE. I also think that it is interesting that as a teacher we should always have the regular classroom as the end goal for our students. I think often times children get classified as one thing and then are never moved from that classification. They can be moved if we have an open mind and help them to move.
One last thing that I learned was IEP and the process of IEP. By sitting in the classroom and collaborating with people of different majors I realize that we all play such an important part in and IEP. We all work together to help one student. We don't individually have all of the knowledge but when we work together we do have all of the knowledge that is needed. This gives me more drive to do all that I can to help learn the things needed for making IEPs successful. Honestly I didn't know about them till this week and to be perfectly honest I didn't really think that a regular teacher had much to do with special needs. I am excited for the opportunity that I will have to be involved in this process.
Saturday, May 9, 2015
Don't Judge
This week in SPED 310 was a big learning experience for me. I have really learned a lot about different people and places around the world and I have learned a lot about our judicial system as well.
The video about mental institutions in Serbia was incredible to me. How is this still happening? At first, I felt the urge to judge the parents who put their children in these awful places. What kind of heartless people would do this to their own children? They would just cast them aside because of their disabilities? Then, as the video progressed, I got to see parents who had children in these institutions. These parents really thought that this would be the best option for their children. Maybe for some people with disabilities in Serbia this is the best option, given family circumstance. The parents were much more loving than I had given them credit for, and they thought of their children every day. I realized that this is part of the culture in Serbia--it is shameful to have children with disabilities, and "putting them away" is a perfectly normal and acceptable option.
While I clearly do not agree with this philosophy, it is helpful for me to understand it. It has taken us, citizens of the United States, years and years and years to get to where we are now in regards to people with disabilities. We still have a ways to go. People need to continue to stand up and fight for their rights as human beings for things to continue to change.
I also got to look at my educational philosophy. I found a couple of different papers that I have written about my educational philosophy over the years. What sticks out to me is how little I knew and understood about teaching when I was first starting out in my program. My ideas are broad, and truth be told, they do not really say much of anything. That is because I did not know anything! I still don't know everything about teaching, and let's be real, I never will, but I love that my philosophy can continue to deepen and expand with experiences.
The biggest thing that I have learned this week is how important it is to love others. There are so many people in the world with different backgrounds, abilities, and experiences. We can learn something from everyone that we come in contact with! So much of the time, at least for me, I am caught up in judging others for whatever reason, and I forget to just stop and love them! I can see now that I have missed out on so many incredible experiences because I haven't loved someone the way that the Savior would. This is something that I am striving to work on now. We can learn so much from one another if we will only give everyone a chance!
The video about mental institutions in Serbia was incredible to me. How is this still happening? At first, I felt the urge to judge the parents who put their children in these awful places. What kind of heartless people would do this to their own children? They would just cast them aside because of their disabilities? Then, as the video progressed, I got to see parents who had children in these institutions. These parents really thought that this would be the best option for their children. Maybe for some people with disabilities in Serbia this is the best option, given family circumstance. The parents were much more loving than I had given them credit for, and they thought of their children every day. I realized that this is part of the culture in Serbia--it is shameful to have children with disabilities, and "putting them away" is a perfectly normal and acceptable option.
While I clearly do not agree with this philosophy, it is helpful for me to understand it. It has taken us, citizens of the United States, years and years and years to get to where we are now in regards to people with disabilities. We still have a ways to go. People need to continue to stand up and fight for their rights as human beings for things to continue to change.
I also got to look at my educational philosophy. I found a couple of different papers that I have written about my educational philosophy over the years. What sticks out to me is how little I knew and understood about teaching when I was first starting out in my program. My ideas are broad, and truth be told, they do not really say much of anything. That is because I did not know anything! I still don't know everything about teaching, and let's be real, I never will, but I love that my philosophy can continue to deepen and expand with experiences.
The biggest thing that I have learned this week is how important it is to love others. There are so many people in the world with different backgrounds, abilities, and experiences. We can learn something from everyone that we come in contact with! So much of the time, at least for me, I am caught up in judging others for whatever reason, and I forget to just stop and love them! I can see now that I have missed out on so many incredible experiences because I haven't loved someone the way that the Savior would. This is something that I am striving to work on now. We can learn so much from one another if we will only give everyone a chance!
Acceptance
This week was a huge eye opener for me. We started off the week by watching a video about an institution in Serbia, that is filled with people who have all sorts of disabilities. These disabled people are living under horrible conditions. I honestly didn't know institutions like this still existed. This made me realize how fortunate we are here in the US, and how blessed we are to have special needs people live in our community. I could not imagine as a parent just giving up my child to live in an institution for the rest of their lives. Most parents don't ever visit their children. This is just unbelievable and sickening to me. Those who have disabilities should be included in a community just like everyone else. Just because someone is different then you, you should throw them in an institution for the rest of their lives? We need to learn to accept those who are different, and include them in this life.
In this weeks readings, we read chapter 1 out of the textbook. We covered a lot of the laws and cases that go along with special education. I had always thought there were so many laws attached to special education, but we need those laws, in fact I am now thankful for them. if we didn't have laws, we may still have institutions like the one in Serbia. I am a strong believer that everyone should have a chance at life, disabled or not. Since there are so many laws, it allows the disabled to have that chance.
Something else I learned this week is my educational philosophy is always changing. In Fall 2014, I created an educational philosophy brochure in my ED200 class. This week I revised my philosophy and man has it changed. This last semester I was in the classroom actually teaching, and I think this is why it changed so much. I think that it is important for us to be open to change in our philosophies, because it is constantly changing. Every class is different every student is different, and your beliefs and philosophies will change with each class.
"The worst thing about a disability is that people see it before they see you." -Easter Seals
Accept those who are different. See them for who they are, not for their disabilities. Respect them. Give them a chance at life.
In this weeks readings, we read chapter 1 out of the textbook. We covered a lot of the laws and cases that go along with special education. I had always thought there were so many laws attached to special education, but we need those laws, in fact I am now thankful for them. if we didn't have laws, we may still have institutions like the one in Serbia. I am a strong believer that everyone should have a chance at life, disabled or not. Since there are so many laws, it allows the disabled to have that chance.
Something else I learned this week is my educational philosophy is always changing. In Fall 2014, I created an educational philosophy brochure in my ED200 class. This week I revised my philosophy and man has it changed. This last semester I was in the classroom actually teaching, and I think this is why it changed so much. I think that it is important for us to be open to change in our philosophies, because it is constantly changing. Every class is different every student is different, and your beliefs and philosophies will change with each class.
"The worst thing about a disability is that people see it before they see you." -Easter Seals
Accept those who are different. See them for who they are, not for their disabilities. Respect them. Give them a chance at life.
I'll Walk With You
This week really made me reflect on and appreciate the acceptance that we have for all people here in the United States. It also made me realize that these ideas of acceptance do not exist fully throughout the world. As a country we have come so far and there are so many things that have had to happen to get us where we are today. Many great people fought hard for what we have today and our country has worked hard to always be moving forward. I think that it is oftentimes easy to find things that are wrong with this country then to look for the things that are such big blessings.
One thing that had a big impact on me this week were the videos that we watched on the mental institutions in Serbia. The people that were put in these institutions were put in basically a jail. They were living in terrible conditions and were not getting the care necessary to allow them to grow, develop, and be happy. I believe that all human beings are special and that they have potential. In these facilities in Serbia people are not treated the way they should be treated. As I watched these videos I thought of my grandmother who has Alzheimer's and my sister who was born with a birth defect that was able to be corrected with surgery. As a family we made the decision of putting my grandmother in a nursing home and this was a very hard decision for my family. The nursing home that she lives in is decorated nicely, they have a nice nursing staff, they have all of her medical needs, and so much more. I can't imagine what it would feel like to put her in a mental institution in Serbia. It already is hard enough to have her where she is. Also one thing that I realized is that my little sister would have ended up in one of the institutions if we would have lived in Serbia. By living in the United States she was able to receive the medicine and care that she needed to overcome her defect and become a normal child. You would never know what she struggled with by meeting her today.
One thing we have to remember though is to not judge. It took our country a long time to get where it is today. I am so thankful for all those who took a stand, worked hard, and gave their lives to make our country a better place. Other countries may get where we are someday.
This week also helped me to realize that my philosophy of education will always be developing. I need to always be open to new ideas and learning. Things will change over time and that means that I will change as well. I realized that a philosophy is not just one idea. It is a lot of different ideas combined together. My philosophy needs to be adapted to meet all of my students needs and I need to make sure that I am not leaving a student out. I need to have love for all of my students.
Also this week I gained a lot of interest in and respect for those with disabilities. As I listened to the song I'll Walk With You I felt the spirit so strongly. I had never thought of that song as a song to make us realize that we need to love those who are different than us. I as a teacher and a member of society need to be like Christ. I need to walk with all people like Christ did. I need to give my love to everyone. Isn't that amazing that Jesus was able to love everyone? We can do that to! We need to always be striving to be like Christ. Special needs kids are truly special spirits. They are so incredibly perfect and loving. I like to think of them as always being little children and that we need to have patience with them just as we do a little child.
There may be things that still need to change and there will be things found along the way. It is important to remember that changes take time. I need to remember patience always. I need to remember those who fought for changes and myself try to make a difference by fighting for what I believe in. Kids who are different in any way deserve the same things that all other kids and people deserve. How will we always walk with everyone? It is possible.
One thing that had a big impact on me this week were the videos that we watched on the mental institutions in Serbia. The people that were put in these institutions were put in basically a jail. They were living in terrible conditions and were not getting the care necessary to allow them to grow, develop, and be happy. I believe that all human beings are special and that they have potential. In these facilities in Serbia people are not treated the way they should be treated. As I watched these videos I thought of my grandmother who has Alzheimer's and my sister who was born with a birth defect that was able to be corrected with surgery. As a family we made the decision of putting my grandmother in a nursing home and this was a very hard decision for my family. The nursing home that she lives in is decorated nicely, they have a nice nursing staff, they have all of her medical needs, and so much more. I can't imagine what it would feel like to put her in a mental institution in Serbia. It already is hard enough to have her where she is. Also one thing that I realized is that my little sister would have ended up in one of the institutions if we would have lived in Serbia. By living in the United States she was able to receive the medicine and care that she needed to overcome her defect and become a normal child. You would never know what she struggled with by meeting her today.
One thing we have to remember though is to not judge. It took our country a long time to get where it is today. I am so thankful for all those who took a stand, worked hard, and gave their lives to make our country a better place. Other countries may get where we are someday.
This week also helped me to realize that my philosophy of education will always be developing. I need to always be open to new ideas and learning. Things will change over time and that means that I will change as well. I realized that a philosophy is not just one idea. It is a lot of different ideas combined together. My philosophy needs to be adapted to meet all of my students needs and I need to make sure that I am not leaving a student out. I need to have love for all of my students.
Also this week I gained a lot of interest in and respect for those with disabilities. As I listened to the song I'll Walk With You I felt the spirit so strongly. I had never thought of that song as a song to make us realize that we need to love those who are different than us. I as a teacher and a member of society need to be like Christ. I need to walk with all people like Christ did. I need to give my love to everyone. Isn't that amazing that Jesus was able to love everyone? We can do that to! We need to always be striving to be like Christ. Special needs kids are truly special spirits. They are so incredibly perfect and loving. I like to think of them as always being little children and that we need to have patience with them just as we do a little child.
There may be things that still need to change and there will be things found along the way. It is important to remember that changes take time. I need to remember patience always. I need to remember those who fought for changes and myself try to make a difference by fighting for what I believe in. Kids who are different in any way deserve the same things that all other kids and people deserve. How will we always walk with everyone? It is possible.
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