Special Needs Reflection

Lucille Ruby [ source 3] states young children need guidance, support, and stability. Ruby says that Donna Snyder prof develope that younger students can bond with their teacher by staying in one class all day. Given this point students who do not bond with their teacher will not succeed as well or feel safe in their environment.

In When We Fight, We Win by Greg Jobin-Leeds it says that “comparison can block compassion both for others and for ourselves.” I agree with such statement; I think that listening is a skill you learn throughout time. One can pretend to listen without really getting anything out of the conversation that one is having with that other person. In the Compassionate Listening workshop, I got to do it with Rachel Kurland and I sit and listened to her talking about the moment her friend treason her. I tried to understand her plight, why would she not cut that friendship off, I understood she loved her friend, however, I could not resist bringing my biases to our conversation. I asked myself, why is Rachel, such a good, loving, and smart person,

Just because a student goes home at the end of the day doesn’t mean him/her should stop learning. The family’s role is to work with the child while he/she is at home and help him/her with homework, read to him/her, and make sure he/she is in a safe environment. The family should allow their child to think for themselves and have their own opinions. They shouldn’t try and force their child to learn something or do things their way. The family can also help me by discussing any problems they are having with their child and any concerns they have about the content or my teaching style so I can better myself. If the family becomes involved in the classroom it makes everything easier because you can communicate better and let the parents know their child’s progress. The community’s role is to work with the children and to make sure schools are safe, rules are followed, and to make sure the children are learning even outside of the school. The community could get involved by volunteering, fundraising, and assisting in the classroom. The community and family participating in these things would help me succeed in giving the students the knowledge and skills they need for the future, and it also helps create emotionally healthy

Forming a relationship with those most influential to the child. Regarding the learning and development of the child, parents and the community are direct influences according to the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework [VEYLDF] (2016). Teachers need to form and strengthen these relationships to form

Reading this book greatly affected the way I will interact with children with disabilities and their families. My current field placement is teaching art at a Middle School. Each class consists of students from 6th, 7th, and 8th grade, as well as students with special needs including giftedness. My cooperating teacher has taught me a great deal about differentiating lessons. Torey Hayden has showed me that it is not enough to differentiate lessons or plan adaptations for our students with exceptionalities. We truly have to look at them as a complete human being, and acknowledge the strengths and weaknesses of every student in our classroom. Because of this book, I have not been afraid to speak with Mark* who has downs syndrome, or Alicia who has a cognitive impairment and hearing problems. I have tried to get to know my students with exceptionalities as well as all of my students as individuals, and understand their backgrounds. In the future I will continue to treat each student as a unique person and get to know them and their families before passing judgment.

I see relationships as being integral and ensure that there is open communication with whanau, tamariki and the teaching team. I am sensitive to each child’s needs and build reciprocal relationships that enhance learning outcomes. I take time to actively listen to children and have rich conversations that challenge children’s thinking.

An American psychiatrist by the name of William Glasser once stated, “When you study great teachers…you will learn much more from their caring and hard work than from their style.” Teachers are a huge part of an individual’s life. From the time a person enters into preschool until the complete cessation of their educational career, the teachers and professors along the way each influence that student’s perspective and feeling towards the particular subject they taught. With daily interactions, teachers become a part of a student’s microsystem. They are often times the only other constant adult figure in their student’s life apart from the caregiver. Whether it is acknowledged or not, the importance of teacher cannot be overstated. Unfortunately,

Joni had worked for over 25 years in the local school system as an Educational Tech II, otherwise known as a teacher’s aide. In this capacity, she got to know generations of teachers, students and their families. In addition, working with high needs students with challenging intellectual disabilities, she sought to identify opportunities for her students to gain practical knowledge in local organizations and life skills to ensure their dignity as adults. To create these connections she often interacted with numerous small businesses, non-profits, and community-based organizations.

For this assignment, I chose to interview Ms. Lisa Parker, who is a Math co-teacher and resource teacher for grades K-5 at Krahn Elementary which is a part of the Klein Independent School District and is one of the teachers I have been observing for my field experience. Ms. Parker has been a teacher at Krahn Elementary since 17 years. She started as a 1st grade teacher and was moved to 3rd grade after three years. The administration saw that she was really good with management and math, so she was given the below average, special education students and kids with adaptive behavior after seven years of teaching. With this, she adopted a style for teaching kids with special needs and decided to get a certification in Special Education. Ms. Parker has been teaching specifically in Special Education (SPED) since five years now and the special populations served by her in Krahn elementary include Gifted and Talented students (GT), students with Autism, students with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), students with Learning disabilities (LD), students with Other Health Impairments (OHI) and Emotionally Disturbed children (EBD)

Being close to her sparked my passion for helping people, especially people with special needs. She taught me that it’s ok to love someone who is “different.” Seeing how much of a difference therapy made in her life, and her family’s life, instilled in me that I want to make a difference in people’s lives. I witnessed first-hand how difficult it was for this family to carry out everyday activities and the profound impact that therapy had on their lives.

Also, we should keep building on positive relationships between the teachers and children we care for. Some of the ways we can do this is by demonstrating respect for the children. We can show them we care by giving them physical affection, using eye contact, be careful with tone of voice and showing them our smile. We need to be consistent with the children. Finally,

Those simple instructions helped the students to get into their daily routine. With the increased discovery and changes in special education, the kids will benefits from newly developed technology in the future. During lunch, the students sat at the table with their peers. I felt like the school needed more set of hands; in other to achieve their desired goals. Ms. Gonzalez was a very happy and hardworking teacher who loved her job. I asked Ms. Gonzalez what motivated her to become a special education teacher. She said that she was motivated by her son. She had a three year old son who was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Conduct Disorder (CD). She said during the initial stage of her son diagnoses, she felt hopeless, frustrated and taught she will not be able to take care of her child. She attended a lot of seminars and training on how to care for a child with such disorder. After series of training, she was able to care for her child and love her child just the way he was. When her child got older, she decided to become a special aid teacher. Her goal was to share her story; as well as educate the parents on how to care for children with disabilities and ways to reduce parental anxiety and frustration while caring for their

Lacking positive, consistent relationships with caring adults causes students to fall behind in school. Teachers, parents, and other trusted caregivers fill this role. Regularly spending time with caring adults creates stability that children crave and the adults create accountability for the children. Through these relationships adults can help children understand the importance doing well in school, encourage them to work hard, and coach them through social and academic problems at school.

Carnes who informed me of what it is like raising her son who has cerebral palsy and how the educational system worked with him over the years. Hearing what Ms. Carnes had to say about her experiences helped to give me a better understanding of what these parents have to go through, and it can give me an advantage if I have to work with parents who have children with disabilities. Because of her surprise at how much work the educational system is putting into training their new teachers, it created a high point in the interview, and I had a sense of pride in knowing that I am being trained to the best of my abilities. What truly surprised me is how much patience these parents have to have to raise a child with disabilities. To conclude, this interview made me slightly nervous over the amount of responsibilities I will have, but this course has helped me become infinitely more

The article states that “existing research suggests that if students have close relationships with their teachers, they tend to display more prosocial behaviors toward