What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the words “special education?“ For me that image has changed through the years, especially now that I teach inside the classroom.
The things that special education covers has changed throughout the years but the stigma or label that these two words bring has not. Click here for a list of services covered by special education. Special education focuses on children that have difficulty learning, it is a big range of services that are tailored for each student that qualifies for them. This program’s goal is to help students that have trouble learning, creating the least restrictive environment and meeting them where they are so they can meet their goals. This has nothing to do with their IQ, intelligence, or success potential; it has everything to do with what the child needs right now. Studies show that 13% of students in the public education system qualify for special education services (source). Out of 100 children, 13 of those children would have a learning disability. So why are these children not receiving services? This is a difficult question. Some of it has to do with the difficulty of figuring out what the student needs, maybe parents hesitate because of that “special education“ label, or maybe limited resources. There is a number of reasons why this could be happening, but I want to focus on our perception of the students that need help. Teachers: When we receive a student with a special education label what is your first thought? Do you think it is the special education teacher’s responsibility to teach your student? It depends on each case, but that label is not an excuse to not have high expectations of that student. They may have a learning disability but that does not mean that they cannot be successful and make academic progress in the classroom. For example, let’s say your student has dyslexia – a reading disability that requires assistance with specific skills outside the classroom – but the expectation is still for that child to read even though they learn to read differently. A learning disability is not an excuse for lack of learning. Every single student with a disability will have challenges, but their challenges do not define them. Your responsibility is to teach and help them grow the best you can when they are in your classroom. Parents If your child qualifies for special education services this does not mean that your child is not smart, it just means their brain processes things differently and it is is our job as adults, teachers and professionals to do our best for your child. Unfortunately, a lot of the time we can’t provide these services without a diagnosis. Special education service are only provided to eligible students. Sometimes a general education teacher cannot provide the necessary tools inside the classroom. Sometimes a teacher needs help and this is what this program provides: special education teachers. If we change our perception on how we view special education, and see it for what it really is: a resource, a source to help children learn better from specialists, our reaction to hearing these two words would change. I think we would stop viewing this program as a burden or as a label that is going to limit their success. We need to start viewing it as an opportunity to help a struggling child succeed. I challenge you to change your view on Special Education!
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Student voice has been one of my most interesting challenges. I was not completely sure how to approach it when I was first introduced to it, yet it has become one of the best things I have incorporated in my classroom. A big challenge to overcome has been balancing the requirements of the state of Texas with student voice. My fear was that I would not get to cover all of the things that the students need to know if they were given too much say in their learning. I’m happy to say that I was very wrong!
I still taught my lessons, but left the independent work up to them. I would be lying if I said that it was easy for me the whole time, but it got easier over time and yielded amazing results. At the end of the week, I had the students record themselves and share what they liked and disliked about this process, and something I could do to help with their learning. The things that they said have been so influential in how I plan and give my instruction. I am still tweaking the process, but I can not wait to continue growing alongside my students as we work to create a better learning environment! Incorporar voz estudiantil ha sido uno de mis retos más interesantes. No estaba completamente segura de cómo abordarlo cuando me lo presentaron por primera vez, pero se ha convertido en una de las mejores cosas que he incorporado en mi clase. Un gran desafío, ha sido equilibrar los requisitos del estado de Texas con la voz de los estudiantes. Mi temor era no poder cubrir todas las cosas que los estudiantes necesitan saber si se les diera muchas opciones en su aprendizaje. ¡Me alegra decir que me equivoqué!
Enseñé mis lecciones, pero les dejé escoger en lo que querían trabajar en su tiempo independiente. Mentiría si dijera que fue fácil para mí, pero con el tiempo se hizo más fácil y produjo resultados sorprendentes. Al final de la semana, le pedí a los estudiantes se grabaran a sí mismos y compartieran lo que les gustó y lo que no les gustó de este proceso, y algo que podría hacer para ayudarles con su aprendizaje. Las cosas que dijeron han sido tan influyentes en cómo planeó y doy mis instrucciones. Todavía estoy mejorando el proceso, ¡pero no puedo esperar a seguir creciendo junto con mis estudiantes mientras trabajamos para crear un mejor ambiente de aprendizaje!
We often talk about how circumstances do not define us, but our reaction to those circumstances does. Something recently has made me doubt this. We recently did a privilege walk in a Valor activity, where you stand in a line and then take a step backward or forward according to a defining statement that is read. The goal of this activity is to create an image of privileges in society. People talk about privilege all the time. Even as I sit here, typing this in a coffee shop, I heard a group of people say: "If they just new how privileged they are!"
As questions began filling my head, I started to feel like a lesser person. Up to this point, I would never have said that I had been robbed of any privileges. My parents are amazing, they have raised me up to be independent and secure in who I am, and they never made me feel like I lacked anything. They made me very aware of all the blessings I had in my life, and I was always aware that I had things that were not essential -- privileges. I feel thankful in saying that I had an amazing childhood. Still, this activity, in some way, tugged at my insecurities. Somehow I felt like more value was being placed on other people. You might say, "wait, didn't you just say that this activity was all about factors that you can't control?" Yes, and the idea of being seen as less hit me hard. When we reconvened from the activity, I sat there trying to process my feelings. We talked as a group about how no matter where we came from we are all here teaching and challenging each other. The more I think about it, the more I realize that my experiences have made me the person I am. I would not change them for anything. It is up to us to take our situation and create something out of it. At the end of the day, you could have had all of the "privileges" in the world, but if you did not take advantage of them, they were there for nothing. I think it all comes back to your attitude towards your circumstances, like if we decide to make it a great day or not. In closing, I want to challenge you to be a little uncomfortable and check your perspective: Apple hosted their fist event in Chicago on Tuesday and it was geared towards education! I am a teacher at a STEM school and our teaching goes in hand with technology. It so important that, as educators, we are aware of changes, updates, new tools and new avenues we can use to enhance student's learning. In our district, every student has an iPad and sometimes I feel like there is so much more that we could be doing with these devices. While these updates do not come until June, this has made me think about the new ways the students can use their devices. Here are some updates that I am really excited about:
After researching and writing this post I decided to get more familiar with the apps from Apple. I realized that there were some apps that I was not using because I thought they would be too difficult for the kids, or not applicable to my content area (like GarageBand.) I was pleasantly surprised to find that some of the apps that I have been using are not as user friendly as the apps available from Apple. When I was taking quizzes to become an Apple Teacher, it really got me thinking about different ways to enhance student's learning and integrate multiple apps to create an amazing learning opportunity for our students. I am so excited for June! Here is the link for the full Apple event: https://www.apple.com/apple-events/march-2018/ If you would just like the highlights here is a video and a link to summary articles: https://www.macrumors.com/2018/03/27/everything-apple-announced-at-chicago-event/ Every Friday, to end our school assembly, our principals say, “Make it a great day or not,” and the students answer “the choice is mine!” This is a statement I have heard every Friday since I started my amazing journey at Cannon Elementary. I love this statement because it reminds the students that they have a choice to make, and that they take charge of their day. For some reason I could not stop thinking about this statement this week. The last couple of weeks have been a little challenging, especially this last week. I found myself in situations that I could not control, frustrated and wanting to be able to do more. By the end of the day I was just so frustrated and exhausted! Something would happen first thing in the morning, and it seemed to impact the rest of the day! There are so many situations that are out of our control — things that dictate what we need to do and when. What am I supposed to do in these moments? This year I have been surrounded by resources to help me dive into this concept, and I just now realized that! I feel like at the beginning of the school year I was really in tune with choosing to be positive and in control of how my day ended, until recently. It is so easy to lose sight of the power that we have over our own lives. I wanted to share a few things that I have learned, and a couple of resources that have helped me along the way. This week, our counselor came into our first-grade classrooms. She brought play dough and rocks with her. Each student received one of each, and they learned about things that they can control (play dough) and things that they cannot control (rocks). They can mold the play dough into anything they want but rocks are too hard to mold. This is such an important concept! I was so happy when Mrs. Couburn taught them that! Being able to differentiate situations that are under your control and those that are not can help you decide where you want to spend your energy.
You can choose how situations will affect your day. You must choose joy in every situation in every day. It does not mean that it is easy or that you will be successful every day, but growing that mindset in your life will influence your outlook and how you live day to day as well as into the future! I am definitely not an expert at this; I have to constantly remind myself to choose joy, do my best, and love with all my heart!
Let me elaborate. Constantly, I am faced with different words that are being spoken incorrectly or referred to as slangs. Most of the times the slang expressions are not from Mexico but from the Texas region. There is a mix of Spanish and English, modification, and a mixture of words. Some of these words are commonly used now in some areas, especially in Texas. If we look back on history, we can see that this is not the first time something like this has happened. When the Spanish conquered Mexico they brought the Spanish language. As the years went by, Mexico made their own version of Spanish. Today, if you visit both Spain and Mexico, you would realize that even though both countries speak Spanish, there are considerable differences. In Mexico, we recognize that our language is a different version of Spanish, Castellano, than that used in Spain. In Mexico, from the time children begin to learn Spanish, they are taught about other forms of speech that we do not use in Mexico's more simplified version of Spanish. They are taught that it is also proper but not the way we speak it in Mexico. When the Spaniards came to Mexico a new version of Spanish developed just as may be happening in the U.S., but it is the same teachers and educators that must decide what will be used and not used. Language is adapting all the time with new words and phrases, but just like English, only generally accepted terms finally become part of the language. The way things are happening with the massive variety of words used in "Spanglish" is that we are developing more confusion and making more difficult the integration and education of dual language. A teacher can't pick up just any word and decide it is useful to teach to their students. In Oaxaca, there are 155 dialects and languages spoken. The Zapotec people having been once a strong nation has been reduced to 100s or thousands of poor villages speaking at least 35 different dialects in just the state of Oaxaca and generally unable to communicate with each other. Most of this happened within a few generations. While their education system was not as formal as today, tribal leaders defaulted to allowing their way of saying things to become more important than having a common language. Coming back to Texas; I believe this is the beginning of what could be a “different” language. This might be exaggerating, but if teachers are actually using these “new” terms, the students are going to use them too, and pass them on. I decided to take one day and write some of the words and expressions I heard. Here are some of them: I also repeatedly heard someone saying “so” in the middle of sentences when speaking Spanish and when speaking English, I heard them use the word “pero” a lot also.
I was born and raised in Saltillo, Mexico. That is only 4 hours form the border, so it is really not far away and there is a noticeable difference in how people speak in that amount of distance. In my family, it has always been important to try our best to speak correctly, which brings me to question. Do you think we should be worried about how we teach Spanish? Should teachers in bilingual or dual programs be compelled to speak correct Spanish? |
Marina LuepnitzLife long learner, educator, investigator, daughter and sister. Archives
January 2019
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