I'd have to say that the highlight of my week was watching the videos in preparation for class.  I started  with the video "Educating Peter."  I thought he was so adorable, but I could see that it would have been extremely difficult for his teacher, especially because she had never had to deal with a situation like this before.  We are blessed to have the opportunity to better prepare ourselves for dealing with students with disabilities in our classrooms.  I liked watching the progression of the other classmates as they learned how to relate with Peter.  I really got a better understanding from this video of why inclusion is so important.

Afterwards, I started watching the video "Including Samuel" and gained even better of an appreciation for what these students have to struggle with on a daily basis.  Despite his disabilities, Samuel was always smiling.  I was impressed that even though he had so many difficulties and struggles he could have such a happy attitude and deposition.  And his giggle!  If you haven't watch it, I highly recommend it.  I could tell that he brings joy into the lives of anyone he comes into contact with.  The next time I get discouraged, I am going to re-watch Samuel and remember how important it is for us to do everything humanly possible to give every child a chance to succeed.

February 27, 2015

I also have to admit that with everyone else that this week was very overwhelming for me, and it was hard to really be able to focus hard core on anything other than studying for the two tests that we had this week. Luckily both my tests have been completed by today and my mind is a little clearer and less overwhelmed. This week we did go into detail on the disabilities and the genetics and development behind it and I find all that information very interesting. I remember thinking that knowing the medical history behind the students really helps you connect to the student and better understand where they’re at emotional and physically.

The test also gave me a new perspective on what we’re learning. I remember taking classes in high school where I knew I wouldn’t use the information anymore and I really thought that the class was pointless and fast-forwarding to now all my classes pertain to my future, I need to make sure to know the information, and be able to recall or at least have on-hand information that I learned in the class and this test really brought me back to how important it is to remember everything. Especially with all of these procedures that will not only help us keep a job but also affect the learning ability of the student for the rest of their lives. We are going to make a huge difference and we cannot take it lightly. We need all the help, understanding, and study that we can get.

This week I started to prepare for the presentation next week. As I researched videos, and stories of child with my assigned disability I was amazed at some of the success rate of some of these cases. One story amazed me, the young girl was included in the classroom. When they implied inclusion in the classroom it allowed the young girl to grow and learn. Today with down syndrome she can walk to work on her own, and to the college. These are huge improvements. It has inspired to try fight and try as hard as I can to allow each student to be included in the classroom. Children need that interaction with one another.

Week 6 Journal

This week was a difficult week for me, also. I think midterms are always stressful, even when we feel prepared. I normally do fine on exams, but one particular midterm this week I did not. I'm not talking about getting a lower score than I wanted, I'm talking bombed. Failed. No hope of passing. I have never failed a test quite so spectacularly and it was upsetting to me. As I walked out of the testing center I tried to figure out why I had done so poorly. I had studied, read, and attended study groups. I thought I knew the material, but the test proved I didn't. 

As I walked home, fighting tears, it made me start to think about the tests we give students and the struggles they have if they have a disability. I thought about how they might feel after each test or quiz when they find out they've failed. I'm pretty sure it is something close to how I felt, but they feel that way each day. 

With my personal experience of academic failure, and with working in the schools with children who have learning disabilities, I have become more vested in helping children with disabilities and doing everything I can to help them not to feel that sick, stomach-churning dread of failure. I think doing the simulations is an excellent way to help us to understand---just for a few hours--how students with disabilities live each day of their life, and the struggles they go through to do simple things we take for granted every day.

I also enjoyed learning about the low incidence disabilities in class this week, and how they are caused along with the characteristics.

Although I wouldn't rate this week in my top 100, I certainly learned and understood more this week than I have previously. 

Journal #6

          This week has been a very bumpy road for me. I have been so stressed about the midterm and afraid to see what tomorrow has in store for us. Although, this week has been very good too. I was a little tired when I can to class on Wednesday, but it ended up being very fun and educational. I was amazed to see the different pictures from the slideshow, of babies who go through different kind of difficulties. The pictures were saddening to look at, but is something we need to know. A girl at our table kept making a few of us laugh. She is not very good with gory pictures. She would turn away and focus on something else while brother Coward talked. Sometimes she would gag or make a weird face. Once the first slide was gone, we began to giggle because it showed the inside of a persons ear, and she didn't like that either. The girl sitting next to her said, "Ito's just an ear." It made me laugh even more. In seriousness, this is saddening to see what children go through every day all around the world and how they are given treatment and ways to work around it to help themselves grow.
          I don't know if I had talked about the wheelchair yet in my journal, so I will throw in a quick side note about it. It was hard. I thought it would've been something easy to do, but once I sat down, I realized it wasn't going to be fun. The things I had to do for it were good and bad. Some of them were easy to do and some of them were difficult. I didn't like having to try and open doors by myself, or even use the restroom. It is amazing to see how when you have something taken away, your life begins to change. It is an obstacle you have to overcome. And overcoming that obstacle of having no use of my legs was pretty hard for me. I do not have a lot of upper body strength. When I was close to finishing, I had to wheel myself back up to the Hinckley. I know I huff and puff, just walking, but what was it going to be like in the wheelchair? It ended up being a complete struggle between my arms and holding the wheels to keep me from sliding backwards. Thankfully some people were kind enough to help me. I am thankful to have done this, but I realize that I need to have more respect for those who struggle everyday. I need to be a kind citizen and reach out my helping hand to others if they are in need as well.

February 20th, 2015

This week I really enjoyed being a part of. Wednesday was definitely full of a lot of information that I need to work on remembering for when I become a teacher and have to really understand all the concepts to help my students. The simulation that we had to do before our class on Friday definitely gave me a new perspective on how students with these disabilities are feeling. I do have to say that if I had even one of these troubles (with further evidence from the simulation) I would definitely be frustrated and feel like no one understands me. One important thing that I learned from this is that when we have a child that is having some sort of disability we need to make sure to do our research and truly try to understand how they are feeling through everything. I believe that if everyone was able to see the person who is sufferings perspective no one would be selfish, it would bring others together to try and aim towards a common goal and help this child, student, peer out and truly make their burden lighter. We as teachers really need to be an example of this to those around us, especially our students. Another thing that I liked about this week was Friday when we were able to do the in-class activity. It really taught me a lot more about the process and how important each individual teachers perspective is for finding a well rounded way to help this student in more than just one area.

I have enjoyed the opportunities this class has given us to get hands-on experience with some of the processes that we will be involved with in our careers,especially the mock IEP meeting this week.  I feel like I learned more than just how to an IEP meeting works, but gain several insights that will be useful during a real IEP meeting.  One thing I noticed in our mock activity was that the overall feelings and attitudes were more on the negative side than those that we watched in the video.  In the video "Accessible IEP" it seemed that everyone was positive and willing to help the student progress even if it meant more work for them.  It could be a result of not having a connection to a real student. I also enjoyed the perspective that I gained as the mother of the student during the IEP process. Even though I was actually speaking English, I could see many areas that we could have improved our language and manners so that the parents feel more welcome and included in the conversations. I realized that part of being a professional will include knowing how to speak with people in different positions and levels of understanding, so that I can effectively communicate with many different people.  Overall, I feel like I have gained a better appreciation for my participation during the IEP process.

Journal #5

Overall I believe that everyone came to the same conclusion (as well as myself) that the IEP mock trial was most beneficial to our understanding and especially my own. I learned early on in my college career that I learn best when I read the material and then I do a hands-on activity and for some reason those combinations really help me out.  When I really have to go through this myself one thing that I have to make sure to work on is truly understanding all the people that will be there at the meeting and trying to make them feel welcome and open. I need to make sure that we are all there for one thing and that is to help out that student. I enjoy the idea of having so many people there because of all the different perspectives. You are able to see your students’ behaviors in more than one environment, which will give a great deal of more insight into what will best help them. When we are at these meetings we need to make sure to be humble enough to ask for help and look to others for how we can improve. Like the demonstration that was given in class: we need to be open to those that come in and be able to understand where they’re coming from instead of closing ourselves off to their insight and their needs when they are coming to us for help.

Week 5 Journal

This week I learned the most from holding the mock IEP meeting in class. I watched the video and saw how one is conducted, but to actually be in a meeting--and have a specific part--was much different. What surprised me the most was that even though the meeting was in the best interest of the student, sometimes it didn't seem so. Although each person had an interest in the student's outcome and progress, some positions seemed almost wanting to get rid of her, so it was one less thing for them to worry about. I could see how easy it was for a student to be tested improperly, and how can could completely skew the results.  With incorrect results, it would domino from there, and a student could end up with services they don't need, which could result in emotional, social, and mental damage. 

When we become teachers I think these meetings will become more valid and pertinent because we'll personally know the students that we are discussing, and have a better idea of their performance. I did like that there were complications put into the mock meeting that we were expected to catch, that made it seem more real and I found myself paying better attention to each person and what they were saying. Overall, I'm glad we could experience an IEP meeting so I'll have a small idea of what they will be like when I am a teacher, and what will be expected of me.

Journal #5

          This week has been pretty amazing. I really enjoyed working together with the class in a mock IEP meeting. I loved it because each of the girls in our group were able to experience different roles of people that come to an IEP meeting. My role was to be the teacher, which was a challenge for me. As I read my sheet of paper as to what I was supposed to do, I became scared. The teacher was supposed to not really care about the parent for the Esther case because she didn't speak English very well. As I played that role I began to feel tension at the meeting and anger. As we continued the meeting we were able to come up with ideas that would help Esther continue to move forward. We found that the tests she was taking were not in her native language, so she was probably not able to really understand what was being asked. At the end of the meeting we thought the best solution was to make sure she'd be tested in her native language and have someone read it to her since she doesn't have the best eyesight.
          When the class came back together to discuss what each of us felt, our group did feel that tension and the frustration between the teacher and Esther mother. I was grateful to be able to go through this because it has opened my eyes to what I will be experiencing with a child who is struggling. I need to be able to sit down with everyone and discuss what we think is best for that child and how we should go about doing it. As I do this it will; not only help me grow as a teacher, but show that I care for every single one of my students. There will be many challenges that I will face in my life as a teacher and as I work through them with the help of my peers, I can push myself to do amazing things not only for me but for everyone around me as well.

Often times as teachers I think that we can be defense when parents come in raising questions about how we teach and what things their children are not receiving in the classroom. This week as I watched our instructors act out this situation, I realized that as a future teacher I need to be really patience and rational. You have a lot of responsibility with thirty some students in the classroom however, it is your job to take care of the individual needs of each student to the best of your ability. The best way to accomplish this in my opinion would be to work with the parents and help them get involved on the home front. I think the mock meeting and the example we saw this week will really help me to apply this principal in my own classroom. This week I thought the IEP Mock Meeting was so helpful to see really all the stakeholders involved in each case. It really makes you think about all the factors that play into each individual child and what your role is. As the teacher in the IEP I had to really hold my ground when talking to the mother. It was so hard because we both just wanted what was best for the child however it was difficult because we both thought there was a better way to do it. As a teacher we really need to be patience, and understanding as to what the parent wants and what each stake holder believes is the best. 

I think this week the biggest thing that I have learned is that each child needs a lot of help and assistance. Granted, it would be ideal if each child that we teach in school could have their own personal individualized lesson plan, however, we know this is practically impossible. This week made me realize that teaching is going to be so much work, but so worth it. The more work that we are willing to put into the lesson the more success we will see from our students.

I feel like the biggest thing that I have learned this week from our preparations, classwork, and group conversations, is that even though there are a lot of steps involved in the pre-referral and I.E.P. process, we aren't going about it alone.  It is truly a team effort!  As I watched the I.E.P. video, I was impressed by a comforting thought that we will be given the information and support we need to help us during the process.  There are experts with specific training and wiser, more experienced teachers and educators to help us come up with possible solutions to the issues we are facing.  I realized after class on Wednesday, that when it comes to making accommodations for students,  we are going to need to be extremely creative sometimes to find things to help the student with some of their struggles.  I appreciate the gift of the Holy Ghost at times like this, because I know the Spirit can help guide us to solutions that we couldn't find on our own.  Even though it will be a lot of work (and prayer) on our part, I know that it is going to be worth it in the end.  As Sister Kay put it yesterday in one of her classes, "we are teaching children not just lessons."  When we teach children, we will do whatever it takes to help meet the needs of our students so they can be successful.

Week 4 - Journal 

First of all I came to realize how important it is to have all this information (we’re learning) down for when we have our own students. We really need to know the correct way to help these students because it will be our responsibility to help them develop and grow and increase in whatever way that they can. The best way to begin doing this is seeing and understanding who they really are (even how they’re parents see them… their insights) because we’re able to understand their strengths as well as their weaknesses and at that point we can truly make a lesson plan that has individualized information for each student.

Secondly, when it comes to those meetings as groups teamwork is key! It is important for us as teachers to make a plan but it is also important for parents and other teachers to be involved in this plan. It allows the learning to be consistent and each person involved can offer a different insight, something that they may have seen (in a different environment) that others weren’t able to.

Lastly, I had originally thought that there was no difference between accommodations or modifications, I thought they were just different words for the same definition but what we talked about in class really helped me understand that accommodations can help a child learn the same material and meet the same expectations as their classmates (listing to audio instead of reading). While modifications are changes in the curriculum because the students are further behind than their peers, therefore they’re not required to learn the same material as their classmates.

Journal #4

          This week we were given a lot of helpful clues as to what we are going to be tested on. It was so nice to be able to do a few games to help us understand what it is like to be a child who has a disability. The game we did in class on Wednesday was a little challenging. It was hard to see what we as teachers would need to do, and the steps to take to make sure a struggling child is getting the proper care and treatment. The study guide we filled out about the laws has ben a lot of help as well knowing what year they happened and the things they fought for in each different case. The main thing this week for me was doing the visibly impaired segment of our class. It was pretty challenging to walk around the apartment and wear a mask that hid my eyes from the world. I relied on my hands to guide me around the entire 4 hours.
          A funny part of this was when I was hungry and anted to heat up a can of chili. My roommates were sitting in the living room and I was in the kitchen. I held up a can from my cupboard and asks if it was my can of chili. They said yes and so I continued to open it up. When I put it into the bowl I realized I had opened my can of pinto beans for making homemade Chili's and soups. I was sad and had to dump it out and try another can. Luckily that time it was my can of chili. Walking around the apart became a little easier as time went on, but was hard at first. At one point I was dancing to a song for my roommate and continued to feel around me to make sure I didn't stray from the spot I was standing in. I now realize how difficult it is to have something taken away from you or even be born that way. I need to be grateful for what I have and know that there are children in this world who are relying on me as a teacher to be their guide. It is pretty scary to think of because as class continues I am learning so many new things that I need to be doing as a teacher. As time continues I will grow to become a better leader and to be able to reach out to these children who have disabilities and know exactly the kind of treatment they need to push them further towards their goals.

Week 4 Journal

This week was interesting because I had never realized how many steps are involved to decide whether a student is candidate for special ed or not. I had always assumed one or two tests were given, and that determined whether or not a student received services. This week, I was particularly interested in the pre-referral process, and the steps that can be taken to help a student that is struggling. I think what stuck out to me the most is that it truly is a team effort when a student begins to struggle and fall behind. It is important for not only the teacher to come up with an intervention plan, but for the team teachers, parents, and even the principal to be involved. Each person on the team knows and understands the student in a different way, and each angle should be considered when looking to find the best solution for the child.

I also enjoyed looking at the difference between accommodation and modifications. Before class on Wednesday, I had lumped the two together as the same thing in my mind. Now I can see how accommodations can be made in may different ways, and only change how the child is  expected to learn. Modifications are more touchy, as Brother Christopherson mentioned, because of accreditation, and usually should not be made if at all possible. I'm excited to see what accommodations I can make for my students when I become a teacher that will help them learn as much as possible.