Student Teaching Shenanigans: The Next Step

Couldn't write one of these for the last few weeks because all of my stories that I could write about would be too descriptive of my students.  My last placement was in a Autism and Severe Disabilities classroom and there are not words for how much I enjoyed my time there! I learned so much not just from the teacher but from the students as well! One thing I learned was patience; seeing what these students go through every day and what they have to deal with makes you thankful for what you have and give you the patience to put up with them through their trials.

The 7 weeks I spent in that classroom was not close to enough time to learn everything that I could and want to learn from them.  This is why I am staying!! No, I am not just going to just live in the classroom, I am happy to announce that I have a job!! My last day in the classroom, my co-op found out that she would be getting a new student who was severe enough that he would need a one-on-one aide. Because I am not certified yet (only because of paperwork that takes five years to fill out), I am able to become a paraprofessional, or aide.  So, before my last day was even over, I called and made an interview with the school district's substitute service.  They had to hire the aide through this service because they are not able to hire outright this far into the school year.

I went for an interview the Monday after Easter, then went in for a training and did the background check stuff that was necessary.  This past Tuesday, I had my final training and am officially considered a substitute teacher! Not even an hour after my final training was finished, my co-op called the job in for me and I was booked until the end of the year! I had my first day yesterday and WOW was it awesome! I have worked in classrooms for years because it is what I love to do,  I didn't really care if I got paid for it or not because it was fun. To actually work and get paid for it though is beyond cool!!

I cannot believe that I already have a job and I have not even graduated yet!! It is very exciting!  I know that at the beginning of student teaching, knowing that the end was coming near, I was very worried about what would happen.  I should have known that everything would fall into place. I have learned one more thing from all of these experiences; don't worry too much about the future, just live each day and everything will work out.

See ya out in the "Real World"!

Student Teaching Shenanigans: Saying Goodbye Part 1

Before I begin my story, let me explain why this is "Part 1".  As I am getting my degree in Elementary and Special education, I have to do two placement for my student teaching; one in regular education and one in special education.  While this is good because I get two wonderful experiences with different types of students, it also means that I have to say goodbye two different times. Saying goodbye is hard enough once, but having to do it twice is even more painful!  One of my two sets of goodbye's happened this past Friday as I finished up my regular education placement with the little first graders.

The kids knew that I was leaving, they had been told at different points during the week, though every time they were told, they acted like they didn't know. Even on Friday, some of them didn't understand that this was my last day.  I was not teaching too much in the class anymore, I even left the class a couple times to observe other classrooms.

As the end of the day on Friday drew near, my big goal was to not cry in front of the kids when I said goodbye.  I was hoping that this would be easy because I was not really leaving, I am staying in the same building, just going to a different classroom.  I should have known that my co-op wouldn't let it be that easy! I knew that the class had done something for me, they were teasing it and trying to tell me all week, but I just pretended that I was oblivious and didn't know what they were talking about.  When the end of the day on Friday came, there was a big pink bag that I was supposed to open.  All the kids gathered around as I pulled out this picture frame.  The frame held a paper that said "Thumbody Loves Ms. Clawson" and all over the paper were they kids' thumbprints, decorated to look like them! It was the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen and I was just so happy! As if that was not enough though, there was even more in the bag! My co-op gave me fancy paper to print notes on, a few books for my classroom, a notepad that she had that I had been admiring, a Reader's Theater book and a book with some teaching ideas in it! I could not believe she had gotten me all of this and it was at this point that I had started to tear up! All of the kindness that she had shown me in the last 7 weeks and then doing all of this for me....I was completely speechless! I was good though, I composed myself, said goodbye to the children as they left to go to the buses and did not cry in front of them.  When my co-op came back, I thanked her from the bottom of my heart and gave her a little surprise of my own.

This first experience was by far one of the best I have ever had and I will never forget a single one of the students that I had! With the ending of this first experience, it means that I am half way finished my student teaching, which is beyond unbelievable!! I barely remember it beginning! Tomorrow morning I walk into my new placement, my special education room, with new adventures to begin! My first adventure: a field trip on Tuesday! Can't wait!

The Student Teaching Journey Begins...

Going to step away from the Disney part of the blog for a moment and talk about a journey I am beginning in my educational/professional life. Yesterday, I got my official letter from my Senior Seminar class saying who my cooperating teachers would be for student teaching! I have received my first choice, which is Claymont Elementary School, a school that is about 5 minutes from my house and where I went from 4th through 6th grade.

My Official Letter!!

The principal there, Jim Grant, is the principal my mother worked under at Darley Road Elementary before the school closed down and my two cooperating teachers are women that I know and have worked with before from Darley as well! My regular education placement is with Maria Natalie in her first grade classroom where I will be from Jan 10th to the end of February.  My special education placement is with Rachel Goldwasser, a teacher in the Delaware Autistic Program and she teaches Kindergarten through 2nd grade.

I am really honored and excited that these teachers are going to let me become a part of their classroom family and I cannot wait to meet the students! Now that I know my placements, my next step is to go to the classrooms and spend at least 5 hours in each and write a paper on my experiences.  I am planning to go to Mrs. Natalie's classroom next Friday to visit and will see Ms. Goldwasser's room after Thanksgiving.

I am still deciding how I want to blog about my experiences. I know I will be updating with big events, but for smaller updates, I am possibly thinking of doing a video blog update.  Not sure yet though, I will have to see as they year continues. 

A Special Website for Very Special Kids!

Josh, Ray and Jess in Magic Kingdom

For those of you who may be new to my blog and me, I am a senior at Neumann University working towards an Elementary Education degree, specializing in Special Education.  I have had a lot of experience with special needs children, everything from Downs Syndrome to Learning Disabilities.  I have even had experience with Autism Spectrum Disorder, but not nearly as much experience as my friend Ray and his family.  Ray's oldest son has Autism Spectrum Disorder, but this hasn't stopped this Disney loving family from enjoying multiple Disney trips! Check out the following article, seen in the Examiner and written by Ray, regarding Disney vacations with special needs family members:

Visiting Disney Parks with special needs

Planning a visit to a Disney Park can be overwhelming for a family. But for those families with special needs children or family members, the task of planning a Disney vacation can be downright daunting. From personal experience, we know that while planning a vacation with special needs in mind is difficult, you can do it and have a magical Disney trip.

My wife (Rachel) and I have been to the various Disney parks several times, my wife even more since she grew up in southern California not far from Disneyland. We took our first born child to Disneyland when he was very young, and had a pretty good trip. However, we discovered as he got older that he had Autism Spectrum Disorder. At this time, we had added a daughter to the family, and were worried that we wouldn’t be able to travel again. We wanted to take the family to Walt Disney World, but the thought of planning the trip seemed overwhelming. Rachel and I searched the web, finding bits and pieces of information that would help us ensure our son and our family could have a successful trip to Walt Disney World. With a lot of research and planning, we felt prepared for our trip and booked our vacation.

Ray, Josh, Chris Reid and Jess enjoying Splash Mountain! 

One way that Disney helps those with special needs is with a Guest Assistance Card (GAC). This card tells cast members what assistance you need, so they can easily help you. Now a word of caution: the GAC is not a pass to the front of the line, a fact cast members (the name given to the park staff) will remind you of when they issue the card. However, if you need an alternate entrance to an attraction, or a quiet area to wait for your turn, they will provide it if they have it. When you arrive at the park, take time to visit the Guest Relations booth and request the assistance. They will ask what your needs are and you can let them know what problems you may have.

The cast members are a very helpful resource for your trip. If you need a little extra help, talk to them. They will work with you to see what they can do. They can’t always fill every request, but more often than not they can give you the assistance you require. For us, our son does not do well in some theaters so we may have to leave early. We alert the cast member when we enter the theatre, and most have been able to help us find seats near an exit so we could leave easily if needed.

If you have family members with special needs, you will have to do extra planning to ensure you have what you need for your trip. There are some excellent websites that can help you. Allears.net is a comprehensive website on both Disney Resorts. They also have a section for those with special needs, outlining what you can expect from the parks for different types of special needs (Autism, Pregnancy, Persons of Size, etc.). Another web is Disney for Families with Autism Spectrum Disorder at www.wdwautism.com. This is a website created and maintained by my wife and myself. It contains information on the parks and attractions and is geared towards persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder. It also features basic social stories and picture schedules to help you plan your trip to the park.

Going to Walt Disney World with my son has been a great experience. Disney does an excellent job of making it special for him. If you have someone with special needs in your family and you are considering making the trip, just know that it is possible to do it and you may find some magic on your trip."

Visit the page for this article by clicking here. 

Check out Ray and Rachel's site www.wdwautism.com for information regarding visiting the parks with special needs family members and give their podcast a listen too at www.mousetraveltips.com

Oh! And if you are on twitter, follow Ray at www.twitter.com/raymtt for his great tweets!