The best part about being a teacher is laughing. Students/kids...they make you laugh. Not at them, with them. There are days where we can get to laughing so hard that I can barely catch my breath. Sometimes it starts off so innocently and the jokes between the students get going and the next thing you know you are bent over double.
Sometimes they do something that is so cute and innocent, you turn away and cover your mouth so you don't embarrass them laughing. If you have kids or teach, I'm sure you understand what I mean.
I love it when we have days of laughter. I love it when something silly is said and we all get to laugh. It really unites the entire class for those few moments and the students remain positive.
The only problem is that you can get so caught up laughing that you get off track with your lessons. At the same time, as long as it is not to frequent, it keeps things in the classroom light and everybody enjoys being there.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008
End of the Year
The end of the year is always tough. There are so many things to do. Report cards, finishing up the last of the grading, organizing for summer and if you have a class in your classroom there's even more work to be done, returning materials to the library and tech lab, getting materials and IEP goals organized for students who have extended school year, and so on. And in between it all, you have to find time to teach. The reality, however, is that the kids get a lot of down time. It use to bother me, but then I realized it is probably a good way to ease them into a more relaxed schedule that they will have over summer. However, some students need structured time and do much better with it. I think it is true for many adults too. Basically, things are fun because of all the fun activities we are doing, but tough too as we get ready to say good-bye for the summer.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Firm Voice
A teacher once said to me: "Talk softly so that when you talk loudly, they'll listen."
My students call it my "firm voice" or "teacher's voice".
Either way, I hate having to use it! I try to use it as rarely as I can. And when I do, they do listen. Most of the time.
Usually, I just have to pull them to the side and have a "chit-chat". I do this for all kinds of things. Sometimes it is just to compliment them on something I saw that I really liked and hand them a sticker or a pat on the shoulder. Sometimes it is just to go over their homework or talk about something random. Sometimes, though, it is because they did something I need to make sure doesn't happen again.
Then there are those times where the teacher voice gets used. One is always if a student dives out into the street, even if it is the pick-up point for the buses, without looking/listening and letting me know they think it's safe. Once they do it once or twice, they don't even have to wait until they hear all of their name and they are backing up quickly. You can understand why that one earns my teacher voice!
Then there was the other day where I was absolutely shocked at the behavior I saw. I've worked with the kid for years now and I've never ever seen anything like it before. I won't go into details, but I had to call this kid to come over and have a seat next to me. It was potentially dangerous (nobody would have actually been hurt, but in this case it was the action that drew my attention). Dangerous is just something that always gets that voice. When I called this student's name out the second the student did it, they froze. All the students in the room froze. This kid did immediately what I told the student to do and I could hear this student talking to themselves about it, so I let them sit and think for awhile. Then I went through the typical line of questioning about the behavior and sent the student off.
It gave me time to think though. Time to think about how much I dislike using the firm voice and yet, how it is sometimes necessary. That it is twice as effective when it is not used all the time. Mostly, I like to head things off before they get there. Sometimes that means being quick on my feet. I try as quick as I can to turn whatever the trigger was into something funny. For example, one of my students tripped over something the other day and I could see her building up to yell at it or themselves for it and I immediately jumped in with:
"ok, ok, I know I've said this before, but you know the rule. The rule is no hurting yourself! and that goes for everybody. You know that is the rule my husband told me too. I turned around the other day and I was thinking about something and ran straight into a wall and that is what he told me! Like I meant to run into that wall! Geesh!"
It took the students a second to figure out what I said (and I said it in a exasperated voice) and then they all bust up. It seems silly, to say something like that, but it helped them all realize that sometimes it just happens, we just hurt ourselves.
My husband quoted something from Dr. Laura (he likes to listen to her sometimes) the other day: "Confusion is great to grab a teenager's attention". I liked that because that's what I do. Just say something silly out of the blue and I know instantly if I have their attention by how they react. The sillier, with the group I've got, the better! And I get to laugh too! That's the best part. I hear them doing it with each other now and that's even better.
My students call it my "firm voice" or "teacher's voice".
Either way, I hate having to use it! I try to use it as rarely as I can. And when I do, they do listen. Most of the time.
Usually, I just have to pull them to the side and have a "chit-chat". I do this for all kinds of things. Sometimes it is just to compliment them on something I saw that I really liked and hand them a sticker or a pat on the shoulder. Sometimes it is just to go over their homework or talk about something random. Sometimes, though, it is because they did something I need to make sure doesn't happen again.
Then there are those times where the teacher voice gets used. One is always if a student dives out into the street, even if it is the pick-up point for the buses, without looking/listening and letting me know they think it's safe. Once they do it once or twice, they don't even have to wait until they hear all of their name and they are backing up quickly. You can understand why that one earns my teacher voice!
Then there was the other day where I was absolutely shocked at the behavior I saw. I've worked with the kid for years now and I've never ever seen anything like it before. I won't go into details, but I had to call this kid to come over and have a seat next to me. It was potentially dangerous (nobody would have actually been hurt, but in this case it was the action that drew my attention). Dangerous is just something that always gets that voice. When I called this student's name out the second the student did it, they froze. All the students in the room froze. This kid did immediately what I told the student to do and I could hear this student talking to themselves about it, so I let them sit and think for awhile. Then I went through the typical line of questioning about the behavior and sent the student off.
It gave me time to think though. Time to think about how much I dislike using the firm voice and yet, how it is sometimes necessary. That it is twice as effective when it is not used all the time. Mostly, I like to head things off before they get there. Sometimes that means being quick on my feet. I try as quick as I can to turn whatever the trigger was into something funny. For example, one of my students tripped over something the other day and I could see her building up to yell at it or themselves for it and I immediately jumped in with:
"ok, ok, I know I've said this before, but you know the rule. The rule is no hurting yourself! and that goes for everybody. You know that is the rule my husband told me too. I turned around the other day and I was thinking about something and ran straight into a wall and that is what he told me! Like I meant to run into that wall! Geesh!"
It took the students a second to figure out what I said (and I said it in a exasperated voice) and then they all bust up. It seems silly, to say something like that, but it helped them all realize that sometimes it just happens, we just hurt ourselves.
My husband quoted something from Dr. Laura (he likes to listen to her sometimes) the other day: "Confusion is great to grab a teenager's attention". I liked that because that's what I do. Just say something silly out of the blue and I know instantly if I have their attention by how they react. The sillier, with the group I've got, the better! And I get to laugh too! That's the best part. I hear them doing it with each other now and that's even better.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Social Skills Class
I run a social skills class time with my students. I used to do it everyday. Unfortunately, the daily time has been crowded out for Quiet Reading, Writer's Workshop, and student discussion. I still slide in the social skills into that time period, but it is not officially written down in my lesson plan book for that. The school psychologist comes in one time most weeks and runs one now, however. We've agreed, though, to stop it as we come to the end of the school year and need the academic time and report writing time.
What kinds of things do I teach in the social skills class?
Where to start? I teach all kinds of things.
Some are the basics: what friends are, how to be nice to friends, strangers (friendly, uh-oh, helpful), sharing, and so on.
There is a part of that, a very important part, that I need to be more direct with. Things like how we sit, how we hold are heads and provide eye contact, how we behave, and all these other little things that they don't pick up on visually. For example, eye pressing. This is a behavior often seen in students with visual impairments. You'll hear the term "self-stemming" in special ed. We all do some kind of this behavior. What are doing now as you read this? Well, one is that you are looking or listening to the text. Are you fidgeting? Are you drinking a beverage or chewing on something? Wiggling your foot? Playing with your hair? Tweaking your glasses? Pay attention to the things you do when you are just listening to other people and that includes what you are doing with your eyes.
Anyway, eye-pressing is a habit that can form and if not stopped early can be nearly impossible to get a student to stop. Yet, how would you feel if you saw an adult pushing their fingers into their eyes? Probably a bit uncomfortable. You might avoid them if you didn't know better. (It is also bad for the health of their eyes which is another reason it needs to be stopped). Children who have vision learn to not do this behavior or others because they see the looks that are thrown their way when they do. Peer pressure can be a good thing from time to time. Peer pressure is often what helps to create proper habits (as well as a few bad ones (swearing)).
(If your child/student is doing this immediately provide a fidget toy or teach them how to twiddle their thumbs or play with their hair-just get them to stop (in a positive way, of course)).
Some students stand right in your face or right over what you are working on. I don't mind this when I'm teaching a concept and they need to see what I'm doing with my hands. In fact, I expect them to be watching what my hands are doing. However, when I'm just writing a note or separating papers, even I can find it annoying. I understand why they put their faces within inches of mine (they are trying to see my facial expression), but it still doesn't make it ok. They won't get away with that at jobs or with friends. They don't even like it when somebody else does it to them. When they fight over that, I do find it ironic.
What kinds of things do I teach in the social skills class?
Where to start? I teach all kinds of things.
Some are the basics: what friends are, how to be nice to friends, strangers (friendly, uh-oh, helpful), sharing, and so on.
There is a part of that, a very important part, that I need to be more direct with. Things like how we sit, how we hold are heads and provide eye contact, how we behave, and all these other little things that they don't pick up on visually. For example, eye pressing. This is a behavior often seen in students with visual impairments. You'll hear the term "self-stemming" in special ed. We all do some kind of this behavior. What are doing now as you read this? Well, one is that you are looking or listening to the text. Are you fidgeting? Are you drinking a beverage or chewing on something? Wiggling your foot? Playing with your hair? Tweaking your glasses? Pay attention to the things you do when you are just listening to other people and that includes what you are doing with your eyes.
Anyway, eye-pressing is a habit that can form and if not stopped early can be nearly impossible to get a student to stop. Yet, how would you feel if you saw an adult pushing their fingers into their eyes? Probably a bit uncomfortable. You might avoid them if you didn't know better. (It is also bad for the health of their eyes which is another reason it needs to be stopped). Children who have vision learn to not do this behavior or others because they see the looks that are thrown their way when they do. Peer pressure can be a good thing from time to time. Peer pressure is often what helps to create proper habits (as well as a few bad ones (swearing)).
(If your child/student is doing this immediately provide a fidget toy or teach them how to twiddle their thumbs or play with their hair-just get them to stop (in a positive way, of course)).
Some students stand right in your face or right over what you are working on. I don't mind this when I'm teaching a concept and they need to see what I'm doing with my hands. In fact, I expect them to be watching what my hands are doing. However, when I'm just writing a note or separating papers, even I can find it annoying. I understand why they put their faces within inches of mine (they are trying to see my facial expression), but it still doesn't make it ok. They won't get away with that at jobs or with friends. They don't even like it when somebody else does it to them. When they fight over that, I do find it ironic.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
For Immediate Release: Family Connect
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Adrianna Montague-Gray
AFB Communications
(212) 502-7675
amontaguegray@afb.net
New Web Community Brings Together Parents of Visually Impaired Children
New York, NY (April 29, 2008)—When parents learn their child has a visual impairment, it can be overwhelming. Parents wonder, "Will my child fall behind at school?" or "Will my child make friends?" or "Will my child have a successful career?" With only 93,600 visually impaired school-aged children in the U.S., over half of whom have additional disabilities, it’s easy for families facing vision loss to feel alone.
To help these families connect with each other and give busy parents, grandparents and other caretakers a place to find comprehensive resources and support 24 hours a day, the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) and the National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments (NAPVI) today launched FamilyConnect™, an online, multimedia community for parents and guardians of children with visual impairments.
Located at www.familyconnect.org, FamilyConnect gives parents access to message boards where they can talk to other parents, compelling videos featuring real-life families, parenting articles, a mom-authored blog, a glossary of more than 30 eye conditions, and links to local resources.
The site also features sections dedicated to multiple disabilities, technology, education, and every age group from infants to teens.
"We created FamilyConnect to give parents the support and information they need to ensure their children can achieve their dreams—whether that is playing sports or music, learning to read braille, getting a first job, surfing the web, making the cheerleading squad, traveling the world, or going to graduate school," said Carl R. Augusto, President & CEO of AFB.
A recent NAPVI/AFB survey of parents of children with visual impairments showed that parents/guardians turn most commonly to physicians (82%), educators (76%), and web sites (65%) for information and support regarding their children's vision problems. This is consistent with national statistics from the 2006 Pew Internet & American Life Project that show 80 percent of American adult Internet users have searched for health information online. For parents living in rural areas with fewer resources, the web is particularly important to finding relevant, trustworthy information and the right services.
"When I talk to parents of visually impaired children they almost always ask about three things: they want to talk to other parents who have children with the same eye condition as their child, they want access to the latest health and education information, and they want to know what the future holds," said Susan LaVenture, Executive Director of NAPVI.
"FamilyConnect offers parents all these things—and more—in one place."
In addition to joining a community of parents, visitors to www.familyconnect.org can create a personal profile and receive information on news and events based on their child’s age, eye condition, and location. Families can also find articles written by parents and professionals on topics such as:
• Finding the Right Eye Care Professionals for Your Child
• Developmental Milestones: What Do They Mean?
• Your Child's Individualized Educational Program
• Friendship in the Teen Years
• College Life Begins
In designing this web site, AFB and NAPVI partnered with leading national organizations and hundreds of local agencies that serve children who are visually impaired to keep FamilyConnect content complete and up to date.
AFB and NAPVI also solicited input from families across the country. Here are representative samples of what they are saying about the final result.
Jen and Bill O'Neill, Nebraska
Daughter Camille, age 3, Retinopathy of Prematurity "Our family is truly amazed at what we've seen of the site. Wow! Thank you all for the insight to see that this is something that is so needed for families who are facing and overcoming the diagnosis of visual impairment. The site is more than I imagined it would be—it is so comprehensive and truly allows families to connect with one another and to resources."
Patty Bushland, Arkansas
Daughter Mary Rose, age 2, Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis (LCA) "When I found out my baby was visually impaired, I immediately went to the Internet to find out everything I could about her condition and what I could do to help her. FamilyConnect is so important, and I wish it had been there for me when my daughter was first diagnosed."
The goal of www.familyconnect.org is to provide connections and support.
By providing accurate information and creating a forum for meaningful discussion, families and their visually impaired children will feel empowered to reach their full potential.
FamilyConnect is generously supported by grants from the Lavelle Fund for the Blind, Inc. and Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, and Morgan Stanley.
# # #
About AFB
The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) is a national nonprofit that expands possibilities for people with vision loss. AFB's priorities include broadening access to technology; elevating the quality of information and tools for the professionals who serve people with vision loss; and promoting independent and healthy living for people with vision loss by providing them and their families with relevant and timely resources. Headquartered in New York, AFB is proud to house the Helen Keller Archives and honor the more than forty years that Helen Keller worked tirelessly with AFB.
About NAPVI
The National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments
(NAPVI) is an international membership organization serving families in the U.S. and in 55 countries. NAPVI helps parents to find information and resources for their children who are blind or visually impaired, including those with additional disabilities. NAPVI provides leadership, support, and education to assist parents in helping children reach their potential.
Contact: Adrianna Montague-Gray
AFB Communications
(212) 502-7675
amontaguegray@afb.net
New Web Community Brings Together Parents of Visually Impaired Children
New York, NY (April 29, 2008)—When parents learn their child has a visual impairment, it can be overwhelming. Parents wonder, "Will my child fall behind at school?" or "Will my child make friends?" or "Will my child have a successful career?" With only 93,600 visually impaired school-aged children in the U.S., over half of whom have additional disabilities, it’s easy for families facing vision loss to feel alone.
To help these families connect with each other and give busy parents, grandparents and other caretakers a place to find comprehensive resources and support 24 hours a day, the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) and the National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments (NAPVI) today launched FamilyConnect™, an online, multimedia community for parents and guardians of children with visual impairments.
Located at www.familyconnect.org, FamilyConnect gives parents access to message boards where they can talk to other parents, compelling videos featuring real-life families, parenting articles, a mom-authored blog, a glossary of more than 30 eye conditions, and links to local resources.
The site also features sections dedicated to multiple disabilities, technology, education, and every age group from infants to teens.
"We created FamilyConnect to give parents the support and information they need to ensure their children can achieve their dreams—whether that is playing sports or music, learning to read braille, getting a first job, surfing the web, making the cheerleading squad, traveling the world, or going to graduate school," said Carl R. Augusto, President & CEO of AFB.
A recent NAPVI/AFB survey of parents of children with visual impairments showed that parents/guardians turn most commonly to physicians (82%), educators (76%), and web sites (65%) for information and support regarding their children's vision problems. This is consistent with national statistics from the 2006 Pew Internet & American Life Project that show 80 percent of American adult Internet users have searched for health information online. For parents living in rural areas with fewer resources, the web is particularly important to finding relevant, trustworthy information and the right services.
"When I talk to parents of visually impaired children they almost always ask about three things: they want to talk to other parents who have children with the same eye condition as their child, they want access to the latest health and education information, and they want to know what the future holds," said Susan LaVenture, Executive Director of NAPVI.
"FamilyConnect offers parents all these things—and more—in one place."
In addition to joining a community of parents, visitors to www.familyconnect.org can create a personal profile and receive information on news and events based on their child’s age, eye condition, and location. Families can also find articles written by parents and professionals on topics such as:
• Finding the Right Eye Care Professionals for Your Child
• Developmental Milestones: What Do They Mean?
• Your Child's Individualized Educational Program
• Friendship in the Teen Years
• College Life Begins
In designing this web site, AFB and NAPVI partnered with leading national organizations and hundreds of local agencies that serve children who are visually impaired to keep FamilyConnect content complete and up to date.
AFB and NAPVI also solicited input from families across the country. Here are representative samples of what they are saying about the final result.
Jen and Bill O'Neill, Nebraska
Daughter Camille, age 3, Retinopathy of Prematurity "Our family is truly amazed at what we've seen of the site. Wow! Thank you all for the insight to see that this is something that is so needed for families who are facing and overcoming the diagnosis of visual impairment. The site is more than I imagined it would be—it is so comprehensive and truly allows families to connect with one another and to resources."
Patty Bushland, Arkansas
Daughter Mary Rose, age 2, Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis (LCA) "When I found out my baby was visually impaired, I immediately went to the Internet to find out everything I could about her condition and what I could do to help her. FamilyConnect is so important, and I wish it had been there for me when my daughter was first diagnosed."
The goal of www.familyconnect.org is to provide connections and support.
By providing accurate information and creating a forum for meaningful discussion, families and their visually impaired children will feel empowered to reach their full potential.
FamilyConnect is generously supported by grants from the Lavelle Fund for the Blind, Inc. and Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, and Morgan Stanley.
# # #
About AFB
The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) is a national nonprofit that expands possibilities for people with vision loss. AFB's priorities include broadening access to technology; elevating the quality of information and tools for the professionals who serve people with vision loss; and promoting independent and healthy living for people with vision loss by providing them and their families with relevant and timely resources. Headquartered in New York, AFB is proud to house the Helen Keller Archives and honor the more than forty years that Helen Keller worked tirelessly with AFB.
About NAPVI
The National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments
(NAPVI) is an international membership organization serving families in the U.S. and in 55 countries. NAPVI helps parents to find information and resources for their children who are blind or visually impaired, including those with additional disabilities. NAPVI provides leadership, support, and education to assist parents in helping children reach their potential.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Home Activities
Today, I had a parent come by and ask me what kinds of things her child can do at home to entertain herself. Of course, being the teacher that I am, I showed her a lot of the things I have in the classroom, that ultimately helps me meet my students' educational goals. However, I do hope they're fun too.
Here are some of the things that I either have in the classroom or would recommend, depending on the child's age.
These you can find at:
with braille
You can find this at a lot of different toy stores. They have smaller versions for older students. It's basically magnets that kids can build with.
Keep that talking up! No right or wrong answers, but helps get you going when you get stuck for something to talk about (that's what the website says)
Textured (below)
Can have braille put on the shapes
Makes noise and is textured according to website
Braille can be placed on this, but it would be something to teach. You have to switch the play money out for real money to make it make more sense.
Has different textures for the animals
A stuffed dog with different textures
Magnets and shapes
Different types of latches. Should probably put something inside to motivate the child to open the latch, but good for teaching daily living skills.
Adapting
There is a material called Braille On that I really love and use all the time in my classroom. It is a sheet of clear peel off material that can be put into a braille writer and typed on. You type up whatever you need, cut it up, peel off the back (which can be a bit frustrating sometimes), and stick on something. I use this stuff to label everything I can think of. Names on things, it's great to put in board books for the younger children, shelving labels, numbers on microwaves, and all sorts of things.
If it isn't labeled in Braille On in my classroom, you'll most likely find it labeled with a 3x5 card, which also fits splendidly into a braille writer and tolerates braille well. The cards can be taped on to things easily, is easy to change over, and cheaper.
It can be a bit effort to try and make sure everything is in braille. I know I miss things. The kids have learned to ask for braille if they run into a blank piece of paper or if they want their name on something.
I find, as simple as it seems, as a teacher, labeling their names on things makes life so much easier. There is something about them being able to claim their territory amongst all the others that reassures them that they have a place in their world. It also gives me a way to help them stay organized and to keep them from arguing over things. It prevents excuses too. They know they didn't grab the wrong binder if they can read their name. It helps with chore charts when an argument arises about who's turn it is to answer the phone. For some reason, answering the phone is a really big deal in class. I had to ban it for awhile because the disagreements became so heated! They share now.
Adapting things into braille can be challenging sometimes though. Some things are just to small to hold all the braille symbols needed. Braille can't be shrunk and frequently requires more than one symbol compared to what print has. That can be frustrating! I can teach them abbreviations and exceptions, but that confuses the younger and learning disabled readers.
Other things that can be used to adapt things are: puff paint, tape, wikki-sticks, stickers, rubber bands, Velcro, cloth of different textures, raised line paper, APH's texture paper, swell paper, 20/20 pens, foil, foamy construction paper, magnets, dot markers, and more.
I put up some resources for materials in my resource links on the side.
If it isn't labeled in Braille On in my classroom, you'll most likely find it labeled with a 3x5 card, which also fits splendidly into a braille writer and tolerates braille well. The cards can be taped on to things easily, is easy to change over, and cheaper.
It can be a bit effort to try and make sure everything is in braille. I know I miss things. The kids have learned to ask for braille if they run into a blank piece of paper or if they want their name on something.
I find, as simple as it seems, as a teacher, labeling their names on things makes life so much easier. There is something about them being able to claim their territory amongst all the others that reassures them that they have a place in their world. It also gives me a way to help them stay organized and to keep them from arguing over things. It prevents excuses too. They know they didn't grab the wrong binder if they can read their name. It helps with chore charts when an argument arises about who's turn it is to answer the phone. For some reason, answering the phone is a really big deal in class. I had to ban it for awhile because the disagreements became so heated! They share now.
Adapting things into braille can be challenging sometimes though. Some things are just to small to hold all the braille symbols needed. Braille can't be shrunk and frequently requires more than one symbol compared to what print has. That can be frustrating! I can teach them abbreviations and exceptions, but that confuses the younger and learning disabled readers.
Other things that can be used to adapt things are: puff paint, tape, wikki-sticks, stickers, rubber bands, Velcro, cloth of different textures, raised line paper, APH's texture paper, swell paper, 20/20 pens, foil, foamy construction paper, magnets, dot markers, and more.
I put up some resources for materials in my resource links on the side.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
